Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/
End-to-end solutions featuring high-performance 100G, integrated OTN switching, transport SDN, scalability to 400G and beyond, fast provisioning, and photonic mesh.en-usWed, 19 Dec 2018 10:20:33 +0000Wed, 19 Dec 2018 10:20:33 +0000Infinera Completes Acquisition of Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/10/01/infinera-completes-acquisition-of-coriant
Mon, 01 Oct 2018 21:02:00 +0000Mark Showalter, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications, Infinerahttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/10/01/infinera-completes-acquisition-of-coriantI am excited to share the news that Infinera has completed the acquisition of Coriant, a global supplier of open network solutions for the largest global network operators. The combination delivers immediate value to our collective customers through a broader portfolio and a stronger service and support team, helping customers reduce total cost of ownership and accelerate time to revenue. This marks a significant milestone for Infinera, now one of the largest fully vertically integrated optical network equipment providers in the world.

Initial feedback from existing Infinera and Coriant customers has been positive – see the press release (Infinera Closes Acquisition of Coriant and Becomes One of the World’s Largest Optical Network Equipment Providers) to read customer commentary. Of course, the real work begins now – integrating the two companies and showing our customers the benefits we can provide as we join forces. The integration planning teams are hard at work, and everyone I’ve met is focused on making our unification a success for our customers as quickly as possible. I’m personally inspired by the degree of collaboration and breadth of the team’s experience as we’ve worked together to reach this point.

I’m honored to welcome the Coriant team to the Infinera family. The future looks brighter as we work together to realize the Infinera vision of delivering an infinite pool of intelligent bandwidth that the next communications infrastructure is built upon. Let’s go!

Disclaimer: Some of the individuals posting to this site, including the moderators, work for Infinera Corporation. The opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not of Infinera. The content is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to be an endorsement or representation by Infinera or any other party. This site is available to the public.

]]>Anatomy of a Submarine Network: The Workhorses of the Internethttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/09/23/anatomy-of-a-submarine-network-the-workhorses-of-the-internet
Sun, 23 Sep 2018 23:30:00 +0000Russ Fordyce, Executive Director, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/09/23/anatomy-of-a-submarine-network-the-workhorses-of-the-internetThe fact of the matter is, there aren’t that many ways to get your data from point A to point B, especially when traveling long distances. Really, there are only three main ways: wires (phone, coax, and fiber optic) to send data over land, microwave and cellular systems to send data over the air, and submarine networks to span the sea.

The path of your data is intuitive; email, web browsing, and other data travel from your home to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) usually over phone wires, coaxial cable, cellular signals, or fiber optics. But, this “access network” is only the first step of the journey. Next, data travels from your ISP to a national or international network or network provider, and if you are requesting data from overseas, your data now takes a ride on one of the hundreds of submarine networks.

The amazing part about all of this is the whole trip generally takes less than a second. And considering the first submarine transmission took 17 hours and 40 minutes, it is even more incredible!
What’s astonishing is that 99% of the world’s internet traffic is now, at some point, put on a submarine network. So, since it’s hard to see these networks given they are often thousands of feet or meters under the water, we thought we’d take a quick look at how these networks are put together and mention some of the interesting facts and myths surrounding these internet workhorses.

Note: If you would like to use this infographic on your website, download the image or PDF and please link back to this post.

]]>Five Reasons to Add Staging to Your Orderhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/08/06/five-reasons-to-add-staging-to-your-order
Mon, 06 Aug 2018 12:00:00 +0000Amy Waranauskas, VP of Service Operations and Paul Momtahan, Director of Solution Marketinghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/08/06/five-reasons-to-add-staging-to-your-orderFor many Coriant customers, staging is becoming an increasingly popular add-on to their equipment orders. But what is staging and what are its benefits? Let’s look at the typical process for installing a system without staging, with all of the modules, plug-ins, and other system components individually packaged and shipped. First you have to collect all the shipped items, compile a list of what has been received, and check this material list against the expected bill of materials. All the items then have to be unpacked, unwrapped, and the packaging disposed of. You then have to study the engineering plans for the racks and assemble the chassis in the racks. Next, you place the modules and pluggables in the chassis. Then you connect cabling within the racks including tie-down and labeling. Only after the system is completely assembled and cabled in the racks can you connect the power and complete external network connections. Finally, you check the software version level, power up the chassis, and run the appropriate functional tests before completing the as-built documentation.

Now let’s look at what happens when you add staging to your order. The complete system is assembled, configured, and tested at the Coriant factory to your specifications. You collect the shipping carton, place the staged item, run the power, complete the cabling, power up, and you’re done! Coriant took care of all the other stuff: installed modules in the right slots, installed pluggables, neatly labeled and dressed intra-system cabling run to the correct ports, loaded the correct software, and completed functional testing.

Benefits of Staging: 80% Less Packaging

So what are the benefits of staging? Well, here’s a top five:

You reduce installation time by up to 75%, which also saves you installation costs.

You can also increase time to revenue if the equipment is being used to deliver services to customers.

You eliminate rework from the errors that often occur when installing equipment that was ordered without staging.

You have accurate records – when time runs short to finish a job, quality and record keeping can suffer. Staged systems ship fully dressed and pre-labeled right out of the box.

And ordering is easy: simply select the options of interest (shelf or rack, ETSI or ANSI rack), include the corresponding staging code on your order with the quantity of shelves to be staged, and place your order, then a Coriant representative contacts you to complete the order.
For more information on this topic, see the Coriant Staging Services datasheet.

We are very excited to share with you the news that Coriant has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Infinera, a provider of Intelligent Transport Networks and a recognized industry leader and innovator in vertical integration technologies.

This move represents a great combination of complementary companies with a shared vision and common cultural values, and we believe it will yield significant benefits for Coriant’s global customers and partners as we combine to form an unmatched market leader with the scale, financial strength, and breadth of solutions to meet your high-performance networking needs well into the future.

This is an exciting time in the industry as emerging end-user applications such as 5G, residential broadband, and hyperscale cloud connectivity drive demand for more open, agile, and scalable networking solutions, and we look forward to the opportunity to expand and enhance the value we can bring you as part of Infinera’s expanded suite of best-in-class offerings.

Coriant and Infinera will continue to operate independently in a business as usual mode until the close of the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval. Your point of contact at Coriant will remain the same, and we will continue to focus on supporting your business needs with an unwavering commitment to service excellence.

We will share more information with you upon close of the acquisition, which is expected in the third quarter of 2018. In the meantime, we want to express our sincere appreciation for your ongoing support, confidence, and trust. Please do not hesitate to contact your Coriant account representative if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Pat DiPietroChief Executive OfficerCoriant

Homayoun RazaviChief Customer OfficerCoriant

]]>Cut Design and Operational Costs with nuPSYS Powerful 3D Visualization Toolshttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/07/20/cut-design-and-operational-costs-with-nupsys-powerful-3d-visualization-tools
Fri, 20 Jul 2018 17:08:00 +0000Reza Azimi, Senior Solutions Consultant and Paul Momtahan, Director of Solution Marketinghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/07/20/cut-design-and-operational-costs-with-nupsys-powerful-3d-visualization-toolsAs service delivery shifts to the cloud, new data centers of all sizes, from hyperscale to smaller edge data centers that bring services closer to users and reduce latency, are being built. Meanwhile, physical and logical resources are being added and removed from existing data centers as they continue to evolve. At the same time, communication service providers (CSPs) are adopting data center principles as mobile networks evolve to 5G and fixed networks evolve to support ever faster broadband speeds.

This changing landscape requires the design of new facilities and constant redesign of existing facilities, which can be both costly and time consuming. Keeping track of a constantly evolving set of assets is further complicated when inventory data is stored in disparate, and often out-of-date, repositories. This typically results in underutilized assets, increased power consumption, slow trouble ticket resolution, inefficient inventory management, miscommunication between teams, and unnecessary service disruption. To address these challenges, Coriant has partnered with nuPSYS, an innovative Silicon Valley-based company that provides its powerful nuVIZ 3D visualization tools including nuVIZ-Dsgn for design and nuVIZ-Ops for operations.

Key nuVIZ Functions

nuVIZ-Dsgn provides designers, architects, and planners with a powerful tool for tasks including design, capacity planning, and migration planning, enabling savings of up to 80% in terms of both time and cost. Floors, racks, shelters, and towers can be designed leveraging a simple drag and drop interface and intuitive 2D/3D visualizations. A topology function shows the physical, logical, and virtual layers, both within a facility and between facilities. The inter-facility topology leverages a geo-location feature that includes the ability to view assets in a geographical map, while a global dashboard provides a single view of assets across sites. A cable management feature provides the ability to add, edit, and delete structured cabling connections. The 3D view enables users to quickly pinpoint the exact floor location and rack slots of each device with options to show the device as a box with a name and an optional color, or with a photo representative image.

nuVIZ-Dsgn also calculates the sum of the maximum powers for each of the devices in the rack and compares this to a maximum power that can be supported by that rack. The percentage power utilization of each rack can be shown in a heat map based on these calculations. The heat dissipation in BTU/hour is also calculated. A transparent mode in the 3D view provides a simple way to visualize how full the racks are and to identify available space. These abilities enable the quick identification of suitable locations for new devices while minimizing the risk of installation errors.

nuVIZ-Ops provides operations, maintenance, and audit staff with a real-time consolidated view of the network and compute assets including a calendar of historical changes. It leverages real-time auto-discovery from the network management systems and directly from network elements such as routers. Racks, towers, devices, cables, and virtual machines can be visualized in a 3D model, as can the physical and logical network topologies. A global dashboard provides a single searchable database of assets across sites enabling nuVIZ-Ops to provide an accurate and real-time inventory, thereby reducing operational costs by 67%. These features enable assets to be optimally utilized thus saving substantial CapEx, minimizing errors resulting from miscommunication between teams, and greatly simplifying asset auditing tasks.

nuVIZ-Ops also maximizes service availability with an alarm management function that includes both the ability to highlight the impacted entities in the 3D view and a trouble ticket function. Finally, nuVIZ-Ops can incorporate real-time data from network elements and IoT sensors for information such as power consumption, temperature, noise, and motion. This data can be displayed in 3D heat maps enabling potential problems to be identified and rectified before impacting service quality.

]]>Notes from Nice: 400G+, Disaggregation, 5G and AI/MLhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/07/09/notes-from-nice-400g-disaggregation-5g-and-ai-ml
Mon, 09 Jul 2018 18:00:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Solution Marketinghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/07/09/notes-from-nice-400g-disaggregation-5g-and-ai-mlI recently had the good fortunate to attend the NGON & DCI Europe event that was held in Nice, France on the 26th-28th June. This event always provides an excellent opportunity to take the pulse of the optical networking industry with a good mix of network operators, system vendors and component suppliers, plus the occasional academic and one or two ICPs. Looking back over three days of presentations, panel sessions and meetings, a number of key themes emerged:

400G+A number of presentations looked at both high speed line interfaces and high speed clients. Line interface topics included higher baud rates and novel modulation techniques, including constellation shaping, enabling wavelengths of between 400G and 600G depending on the vendor. The OIF talked about their efforts to standardize technologies for 400G+, following the success their standardization efforts have had in speeding the adoption of coherent 100G. These current efforts include specifications for high baud rate (45GBaud, 64GBaud) analogue pluggables and 400G ZR which aims to create a compact and cost-effective option for transmitting 400G over DWDM at distances of up to 80km. On the client side topics included the form factor for 400G client pluggables with QSFP-DD seen as the favourite due to its smaller size and lower power but with OSFP, less challenging for manufacturers, also in the race. Flex Ethernet (FlexE) which provides more flexibility in matching line capacity and client capacity while avoiding the ~20% inefficiency of LAG (Link Aggregation) was also discussed, with the 2.0 version adding the ability to use Nx200G or Nx400G in addition to Nx100G of the 1.0 version, while also providing a 25Gbps granularity option in addition to 5Gbps granularity of the 1.0 version.

DisaggregationWhile a couple of years ago disaggregation and more specifically open line systems were novel and somewhat controversial concepts, at least outside the DCI stream of the conference, and primarily promoted by system vendors, this year disaggregation went mainstream. From the research and education community, GÉANT, the pan-European backbone, and CSC/Funet in Finland discussed their experiences of deploying disaggregated muxponders over their existing DWDM line systems. LINX, the London Internet Exchange, talked about their experiences with both disaggregated muxponders and disaggregated switch/routers based on white boxes and a hardware-independent NOS, which was also the topic of a presentation from my Coriant colleague, Harald Bock.

Slide on Disaggregation presented by Coriant’s Harald Bock

Telefonica coined the term “partial disaggregation” to describe their preferred approach of keeping the all the components of the optical line system with one vendor and the muxponders with different vendors, as opposed to “full disaggregation” that would mix line system components such as amplifiers and WSSs from different vendors. And Orange talked about the TransportPCE project which is working to develop an open, multi-vendor SDN controller for Open ROADM-based infrastructure.

5G

Triangle of 5G Applications (Source: ITU-R IMT 2020 Requirements)

5G was yet again a hot topic. Almost every presentation on 5G included a slide with a triangular graphic, based on the one from the ITU-R IMT 2020 Requirements shown above, depicting the three key objectives of 5G:

Enhanced Mobile: up to 10Gbps to user devices, with 1000x bandwidth per unit area

Massive IoT Scale: huge increase in IoT devices with ultra-low power enabling 10 year batter life

Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency: for applications such as autonomous driving, remote surgery, etc.

The consensus view was that building a single network that could simultaneously meet all three objectives would be technically very challenging while building three networks would not be economically feasible. There was a lot of optimism that optical had a key role to play in terms of delivering the capacity and low latency requirements, with one presenter excitedly pointing out that 5G base stations today have between one and four 10G ports, with multiple base stations per tower. This will require a lot more fiber in the fixed access network but it also creates requirements for more spatially-efficient fiber, the topic of a presentation from Corning, and more cost-effective optical equipment.

BT talked about the EU Metro-Haul project it is leading, to architect and design energy-efficient programmable metro networks for 5G, a project in which Coriant is also a participant. One topic of debate was best approach for cost-effective, high speed transmission in the backhaul/fronthaul networks: cost-optimized, temperature-hardened coherent technology (i.e. coherent-lite) or direct detect approaches such as PAM4 or DMT. Finally, Heavy Reading shared the results of a recently conducted survey that showed latency as being the key 5G transport network challenge for mobile operators, a slight preference for traditional backhaul and a distributed RAN (DRAN) vs. fronthaul and a centralized RAN (CRAN), and strong roles for both packet over fiber and point-to-point WDM.

Artificial Intelligence/Machine LearningA final theme looked at the potential roles of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in helping to automate optical networks. Intent-based networking was covered in a number of presentations: you tell the network what you want (i.e. 50Gbps between A and Z with 99.99% or better availability and 10ms or lower latency) and it figures out how to get it done. My colleague Stefan Voll’s presentation included a number of practical examples of how AI/ML could be applied to optical networks: advanced warnings of fiber breaks based on vibration detection, predicting equipment failures before they happen, predicting traffic congestion, enhanced path selection, and network defragmentation.

Another example he gave was dispatching engineers in advance to areas likely to be impacted by storms. LINX saw alarm correlation as an area where AI/ML could add significant value. The growth in optical network scale and complexity driven by 5G was seen as a key driver for AI/ML, though the Heavy Reading survey showed automation as being currently low on the list of 5G transport network priorities. BT also cautioned that traditional linear learning might still be sufficient for may use cases.

]]>Want to Keep Those High Margin TDM Leased Line Revenues? Here’s How...http://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/06/28/want-to-keep-those-high-margin-tdm-leased-line-revenues-heres-how
Thu, 28 Jun 2018 00:03:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Solution Marketinghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/06/28/want-to-keep-those-high-margin-tdm-leased-line-revenues-heres-howSONET/SDH networks continue to generate valuable TDM leased line service revenues. Margins for these services are determined by the prices charged for them minus the costs of delivering them. The nice thing about TDM leased lines is that at this stage in their market lifecycle they are primarily purchased by risk-averse and relatively price-insensitive customers, so they face relatively little pricing pressure. The problem with continuing to offer these services over legacy SONET/SDH infrastructure is that operating costs are high and getting higher with expensive maintenance, large footprint, and high power consumption, and operators often face increasing difficulties finding replacement parts. Furthermore, the operating cost of the SONET/SDH network is being shared by a shrinking volume of services. All this is putting pressure on margins.

The solution is to offer TDM leased line services based on next-generation infrastructure with lower operating costs that can also support high volume packet-based services, enabling operating costs to be shared by a larger number of services. Packet with TDM circuit emulation, OTN switching, and SONET/SDH switching in a next-generation platform are the three main options with each having its advantages and disadvantages.

SONET/SDH Migration Options

Advantages for packet with TDM circuit emulation include low speed TDM (E1, T1, E3, DS3) support and the better granularity and statistical gain of packet. However, quality of service is more complex and more learning may be required for users that are less familiar with packet technology, though these disadvantages can be largely mitigated with a good network management system, such as Coriant Transcend™ Chorus for Transport, that hides complexity and provides TDM-like provisioning and operations, and with MPLS-TP that more closely resembles SONET/SDH, as we will discuss later. One final disadvantage of packet with TDM circuit emulation is that STM-64/OC-192 interfaces are typically not supported.

OTN switching offers scalability and simplicity/familiarity but has lower granularity (ODU0 = 1.25 Gbps) and OTN switching products do not typically support low speed interfaces. SONET/SDH in a next-generation platform, such as the Coriant® mTera® Universal Transport Platform (UTP) (see the blog 5 Options for Migrating SONET/SDH Networks to OTN/Packet), benefits from technology familiarity and offers better granularity than OTN, however, low speed interfaces are not typically supported and it cannot match the granularity of packet.

If packet with TDM circuit emulation provides the best fit, then the next question becomes which packet technology? Carrier Ethernet or MPLS-TP? Carrier Ethernet includes Ethernet Bridging and VLAN cross-connect with G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection and G.8031 linear VLAN protection for sub-50ms protection, and is generally seen as the simpler option, at least for those familiar with packet technology or with limited transport technology experience. However, MPLS-TP provides a circuit-based approach to packet networking and is based on the same architectural principles of layered networking that are used in SONET, SDH, and OTN. It supports SONET/SDH-like protection mechanisms such as LSP SNCP and LSP ring protection, with platforms such as the Coriant® 7090 M/CEM, which also support MSP 1+1/1:1 protection, capable of being deployed in mixed networks with end-to-end protection of individual TDM services across both MPLS-TP and SONET/SDH domains, removing a significant barrier to migration. It provides the better service scalability relative to Carrier Ethernet – for example it is not restricted by the 4,000 S-VLAN limit of Ethernet bridging. And it includes VPLS/H-VPLS for multi-point services. For these reasons of greater familiarity and scalability, MPLS-TP is typically the preferred packet technology for TDM circuit emulation, with the majority of packet with TDM circuit emulation products available on the market today following this approach.

An additional choice relates to TDM circuit emulation. Here the options include RFC 4553 Structure-Agnostic TDM over Packet (SAToP), RFC 4842 SONET/SDH Circuit Emulation over Packet (CEP), and Transparent SONET/SDH over Packet (TSoP). SAToP provides an option for low speed TDM though it also supports channelized high speed interfaces (i.e., VC12 onto ch.STM-1, VC11 onto ch.OC-3) and is probably the most widely supported and deployed. TSoP provides an option for clear channel high speed TDM (i.e., STM-n/OC-n). CEP supports both low speed and high speed TDM with the ability to aggregate lower speed circuits onto higher speed channelized interfaces. CEP is also the most bandwidth efficient of these options as empty TDM slots will not occupy packet bandwidth. However, these circuit emulation options are not mutually exclusive with the same hardware often capable of running different options for different services simultaneously.

So to summarize, MPLS-TP based packet platforms with support for circuit emulation, such as the 7090 M/CEM Series, enable network operators to continue to generate revenues from a wide range of TDM leased line services, while reducing operational costs with less expensive maintenance, lower power consumption, and smaller footprint, and to share these operational costs among both TDM services and a wide range of packet-based services, thus maintaining high margin TDM leased line revenues.

]]>Fiber Deep Part 2: Is Your Network Ready?http://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/06/01/fiber-deep-part-2-is-your-network-ready
Fri, 01 Jun 2018 18:11:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Solution Marketinghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/06/01/fiber-deep-part-2-is-your-network-readyAs we discussed in the blog post, “Fiber Deep Part 1: What is it?”, by pushing the fiber node, where fiber meets coax, closer to the end-user, Fiber Deep significantly reduces the number of homes that must share the coax portion of the HFC network, enabling gigabit internet services while simultaneously reducing power consumption and maximizing service availability by eliminating the need for RF amplifiers. But how can we best evolve the network from the fiber node to the head-end and beyond to support Fiber Deep?

First, let’s look at some of the key challenges cable MSOs are facing as they implement Fiber Deep and other initiatives including DOCSIS 3.1 Full Duplex, Head End Re-architected as a Data Center (HERD), Distributed Access Architecture (DAA), and Remote PHY. Scaling capacity cost effectively to deliver turbocharged internet speeds is one key challenge. Minimizing latency is another as this becomes an increasingly critical component of the customer experience with residential customers prepared to switch providers if video streaming quality suffers or web response times appear slow, gamers actively seeking providers with the lowest latency, and new applications such as VR streaming and the tactile internet likely to make latency even more critical. Minimizing operational costs related to power consumption, footprint, and labor-intensive manual processes is also key. And underpinning all this is the need to accelerate innovation as the primary enabler for CapEx and OpEx reductions, capacity and performance improvements, and new services.

So how can we best address these challenges? At Coriant, we believe the four key principles of the Coriant Hyperscale Carrier Architecture (HCA) offer the best approach:

openness

disaggregation

virtualization

SDN-enabled automation

Openness and disaggregation separate hardware and software into best-in-class functional blocks with open APIs, providing the ability to replace each functional block independently, reducing vendor lock-in, and enabling faster innovation. WDM transport systems are disaggregated into Open Line Systems and Open Transponder/Muxponders. The packet function becomes programmable with options including SDN control of converged packet optical platforms, and white boxes together with hardware-independent network operating systems enabling applications including disaggregated routing. Virtualization moves network functions from dedicated hardware to VNFs running on commodity x86 servers and white boxes. Benefits include reduced costs, the ability to turn up and scale services on demand, and the option to reduce latency by moving VNFs closer to the customer. SDN-enabled automation includes end-to-end service provisioning across multiple layers, network operations tasks such as service activation testing, and platform management tasks including commissioning, software upgrades, and configuration backups. In addition, SDN speeds innovation by greatly simplifying the integration of new technologies into the IT/OSS environment.

Internet service speeds can now be scaled cost effectively leveraging 100G+ optics, optical express, and disaggregated routing. Low latency is enabled by optical express and NFV edge compute. OpEx savings result from minimized power consumption, reduced footprint, and SDN-enabled automation. And the innovation capabilities of the entire ecosystem can be tapped with Coriant solutions including disruptive technologies from best-in-class companies in the Coriant Multi-Sided Platform (MSP) Partner Program.

]]>Why MPLS-TP is the Best Option for Smart Grid Evolutionhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/05/23/why-mpls-tp-is-the-best-option-for-smart-grid-evolution
Wed, 23 May 2018 04:00:00 +0000Gerhard Daubmeier, Senior Solutions Consultant and Paul Momtahan, Director of Solution Marketinghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/05/23/why-mpls-tp-is-the-best-option-for-smart-grid-evolutionUtilities are adopting smart grid technology in order to improve the sustainability, efficiency, and reliability of the electricity network, while also enabling customer-generated supply and smarter time-of-day based energy usage. The adoption of this technology is being enabled by the European Technology & Innovation Platform (ETIP) Smart Networks for Energy Transition (SNET) in Europe and its US equivalent. The result is over $50B of global investment in smart grids in 2017, which is forecast to grow to $70B by 2020.

But what does this mean for the communications network electrical utilities use to control and operate the electricity distribution network? At a high level, electricity networks consist of generation, transmission, substations, and consumers. High voltage from generators goes across the transmission network to the primary substations where medium voltage goes to secondary substations and heavy industry, and then low voltage is delivered to residential properties, light industry, and everyone else.

Electricity Network Overview

This network requires a communications network for monitoring and control, protection, and utility office applications. Historically, SONET/SDH has been used to provide this mission-critical communications network due to its reliability and quality of service, transparency to unique electricity industry control protocols (DNP3, Modbus), and support for now legacy serial (RS232, RS485) and TDM (E1, T1) interfaces. The need for extremely accurate time and frequency synchronization has traditionally been met by a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) such as GPS.

However, SONET/SDH lacks the bandwidth and flexibility required for smart grid communications. It is also inherently point-to-point and cannot natively meet the mesh and multicast requirements of many smart grid applications. Furthermore due to component obsolescence, finding replacement parts for failed SONET/SDH equipment is becoming increasingly challenging. So what is the alternative?

Fortunately, the legacy protocols (DNP3, Modbus) are evolving to IEC 61850, an international standard defining communication protocols for intelligent electronic devices at electrical substations. It uses Ethernet (Layer 2) for synchronization (IEEE 1588v2), protection (Generic Object Oriented Substation Events [GOOSE]) and the multicast of analogue measurements of the electrical signal, and IP (Layer 3) for configuration and reporting (Manufacturing Message Specification [MMS]). This will reduce the requirement for legacy protocol and interface support, however, this transition will not happen overnight.

Therefore, what is required is a scalable solution that can support both Ethernet and IP transport while still providing support for legacy TDM and serial interfaces through circuit emulation. The solution must deliver the high availability and the sub 5 ms transmission latency required for sub 50 ms protection of the electrical network. Comprehensive synchronization support including IEEE 1588v2 is also required.

SONET/SDH vs. MPLS-TP

MPLS-TP provides an ideal technology to meet these requirements with support for point-to-point (VPWS) and mesh (VPLS/H-VPLS) Ethernet, transparent IP, and legacy interfaces through circuit emulation. Platforms like the Coriant® 7090 M/CEM also provide 50 ms network protection and hard quality of service, ultra-low latency, and comprehensive synchronization including IEEE 1588v2 support, making them an excellent option for evolving electricity networks from legacy SONET/SDH to a smart grid enabling packet infrastructure. And the bonus? Excess capacity on this network can be monetized by selling MEF E-Line, E-LAN, E-Tree, E-Transit, and E-Access services to enterprise and wholesale customers.

]]>How Did We Get Here? The Path to Internet 4.0http://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/05/09/how-did-we-get-here-the-path-to-internet-4-0
Wed, 09 May 2018 15:51:00 +0000Russ Fordyce, Executive Director, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/05/09/how-did-we-get-here-the-path-to-internet-4-0As with all technologies, things evolve, and this is true with the internet itself. Consumer adoption, technology, and trends have all helped to shape how generations use the internet and set it on a course to meet the needs of our transforming culture.

Internet 1.0: Welcome Your New OverlordOnce the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) developed the internet, internet 1.0 was marked by the dominant market position of AOL, known before 1991 as Quantum Computer Services. In the early days, all you needed was a modem, a phone line (or phone), and a computer to get “online.” Steve Case, founder of AOL, saw a market opportunity to link Commodore 64 owners together so they could share code, stories, etc. In 1996, a booming 110 sites dominated the online landscape and the average speed for connecting was 36 Kbps.

FUN FACT: AOL’s famous “You’ve got mail” was first recorded in 1989 by Elwood Edwards, an American voice actor. Edward’s wife overheard Steve Case talking about wanting a voice interface to his service and volunteered her husband’s voice. Edwards went on to make voice appearances on The Simpsons, the movie You’ve Got Mail featuring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and in an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Internet 2.0: The Rise of the PortalsAOL provided us with a glimpse of things to come and rapidly expanded services to keep its consumers engaged. Technology evolved from dial-up to DSL and even cable high speed services, which gave rise to a more graphical World Wide Web. Remember wanting 768K service?

AOL rapidly found itself with clone-like competitors looking to get in on this rapidly scaling new network. CompuServe and others started to fragment the market and it was clear multiple parties would be entering the game. The rise of the portals brought new money and players into the market in a bid to gain and retain “eyeball share.” Companies like Netscape, Microsoft, Yahoo, eBay, and others developed content rich communities that sought to keep you entertained and paying!

By 2000, 43% of Americans were classified as internet users.

Internet 3.0: Apps, Clouds, and Social, Oh My!The internet companies were no dummies. Teams of employees started to realize the scale of the impact the internet was having, and internet speeds started to increase. More speed meant more payload for content and apps. Google, Facebook, Amazon, Baidu, Alibaba, and hundreds of other companies realized that the browser was the platform and when Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, the internet got way more mobile, location aware, distributed, available…and way more important.

AJAX and other technologies combined with 4G, and very high speed consumer grade internet services (FTTX and DOCSIS 3.0) meant all previous limitations were off. Apps in browsers and smartphones meant the personal computer was no longer a necessity. But with computing resources now somewhat limited on mobile devices, more services relied on cloud-based processing and storage to enable mobility.

Internet 4.0: The Rise of the MachinesWelcome to the new age of the internet, commonly called the “Industrial Internet” or the “Industrial Internet of Things.” Analysts now predict that between six and nine billion devices will be deployed by 2020, excluding smartphones, tablets, and computers, down from the staggering 50 billion prediction. These new “dumb” devices will rely on computing resources in the cloud. But with computing processing power continuing to scale and with quantum computing seemingly just around the corner, the cloud is evolving from a centralized data center model, to a much more distributed model geared at improving performance by placing the resources needed closer to the consumer at the edge of the network.

Service providers are rapidly working to determine their own strategy for enabling this distributed model with 5G wireless services and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) resources. MEC resources can be deployed quickly and efficiently in neighborhoods, industrial parks, and business parks, really, anywhere with access to the network and power! MEC not only contains computing resources but also the storage, software, routing and switching, and optical transmission equipment needed to improve performance and customer experiences.

Service providers are also looking to new residential initiatives, like Fiber Deep led by the cable companies, Verizon’s FiOS initiative, and Google Fiber, to further extend fiber optic assets closer to the consumer (fiber densification), again reducing latency and streamlining operations. In addition, fiber will continue to penetrate enterprise markets as digital transformation initiatives continue to drive bandwidth while firms look to improve customer experiences through personalization, improved user interfaces, increased communications, and many other factors.

So What?No doubt that the evolution of the internet will continue. This next decade of internet 4.0 evolution will radically change how the internet is used by consumers and companies alike. It is estimated by analyst firm IHS Markit that more than 31 billion devices will be connected in 2018, so everyone involved needs to adapt…and quickly.

The winners, excluding consumers and enterprises, are the enablers of the technology all along the path. Service providers will need to change the performance characteristics of the network to enable performance improvements that will make it all possible. Augmented reality, virtual reality, the tactile internet, connected cars, industrial automation, and so much more will rely on seamless network availability and ultra low latency services.

The losers will be those with their heads in the sand. Anyone who thinks this is business as usual or just a fad is in for a big surprise. Looking back on internet 1.0-3.0 I am sure we can find endless examples of companies failing to see the bigger picture and how their worlds were about to implode. Just ask any newspaper publisher.

]]>Fiber Deep Part 1: What is it?http://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/04/18/fiber-deep-part-1-what-is-it
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 23:19:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Solution Marketing and Russ Fordyce, Executive Directorhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2018/04/18/fiber-deep-part-1-what-is-itEntertainment consumption has been shifting from linear, forcing the consumer to view the content at a time dictated by the program scheduler, to non-linear with the option to stream a vast range of content at a time and place of the viewer’s choice, and to social media platforms such as Facebook. This shift is also giving rise to increasing numbers of cord-cutters: households that cancel cable TV or other paid TV subscriptions in favor of a high speed broadband connection and over-the-top video services from the likes of Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and Hulu.

To address these changes and the threats they present, MSO cable operators must evolve, and are evolving, their business models, service offerings, and networks. In terms of network evolution, they have an impressive number of industry initiatives to choose from. DOCSIS 3.1 evolves the Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) part of the network with higher order modulation (up to 4096 QAM today), increasing capacity to 10 Gbps downstream and 1-2 Gbps upstream while DOCSIS 3.1 Full Duplex enables downstream and upstream to use the same spectrum increasing upstream capacity also to 10 Gbps. Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP) and Head End Re-architected as a Data Center (HERD) focus on the headend, with CCAP, which has already been widely adopted, bringing together the CMTS (cable broadband) and edge QAM modulator (video) functions in a single platform, while HERD seeks to virtualize these functions based on data center principles. Distributed Access Architecture (DAA), also referred to as Distributed CCAP Architecture (DCA) and Digital HFC, and with Remote PHY the most common and standardized implementation, separates the CCAP core functions and PHY (or MAC/PHY) with the core functions remaining at the headend or primary hub while the PHY function, typically but not necessarily, gets pushed deeper into the network, closer to the end-user. And then there is Fiber Deep.

While DOCSIS 3.1 uses higher order modulation to maximize spectral efficiency and increase capacity, the problem is that coax is a shared medium with the 10 Gbps downstream and 1-2 Gbps or 10 Gbps upstream having to be shared amongst all the households sharing that coax - typically 500 homes but up to 2000. With 500 homes this works out as 20 Mbps per home. Now due to the statistical nature of internet usage, actual data rates can be significantly higher than this, but as internet usage ramps with streaming and device proliferation, oversubscription ratios are shrinking. Another approach to increasing capacity is to split the fiber node with 10 Gbps, on each of the fiber node’s ports, increasing the average capacity to between 40 Mbps (2 ports) and 80 Mbps per home (4 ports).

What Fiber Deep does is move the fiber node much closer to the customer reducing the number of homes that have to share the DOCSIS-enabled coax capacity to between 50 and 128. With a typical 64 homes, the average capacity per home with DOCSIS 3.1 would be 156.25 Mbps. However with node splitting, this average could be as high as 625 Mbps per home (4 ports), providing the ability to offer gigabit plus services to every home.

Figure 2: Fiber Deep

The other problems Fiber Deep addresses are OpEx and service availability. Fiber Deep pushes the fiber node to the point, typically within 330 meters/1000 feet of the farthest home, where there is no longer a need for Radio Frequency (RF) amplifiers, commonly referred to as “N+0” – node plus zero amplifiers. A typical fiber node has 4 ports with 7 amplifiers per port, and therefore 28 amplifiers per fiber node. These amplifiers consume around 35 watts while the fiber node itself consumes around 60 watts, giving a total of 1040 watts. If we replace these with six Fiber Deep nodes at 140 watts each, we reduce consumption to 840 watts, a reduction of almost 20%.

In addition to consuming power, these RF amplifiers can fail causing service outages degrading the customer experience and increasing OpEx as the faults are reported, located, and repaired. Active devices are responsible for the vast majority of failures in an HFC network. Using the above example, we have replaced 29 active devices with 6 active devices, an almost 80% reduction.

Figure 3: Fiber Deep + DAA/Remote PHY

For many cable operators, Fiber Deep will go hand-in-hand with DAA and Remote PHY. Benefits of this approach include reduced footprint and power consumption at the headend and simplified transport between the headend and fiber node, replacing analogue RF transport with simpler and more efficient digital technologies, such as Ethernet and OTN, which also enables higher modulation and more capacity on the coax part of the network. Furthermore, Remote PHY provides a more flexible solution for node splitting.

So to summarize, alongside DOCSIS 3.1/Full Duplex and node splitting, Fiber Deep has a key role to play in increasing cable network capacity while also reducing OpEx and maximizing service availability, especially when deployed with Remote PHY.

As the global demand for bandwidth increases due to the rise of cloud-based services, existing submarine cable systems are rapidly running out of capacity. To address this challenge, network operators need to maximize the capacity and reach of cable plants and increase the efficiency of provisioning high-bandwidth client services. The solution is the implementation of cloud-scale networks that are scalable, programmable, flexible, resilient, and easy to operate.

While traditionally submarine cable systems were completely separated from the data centers of terrestrial networks, in order to provide efficient POP-to-POP connectivity with fast service provisioning, interworking of the Submarine Line Terminating Equipment (SLTE) with the data center gear on a common platform is a requirement. Coriant helps operators converge submarine and terrestrial networks by offering an open optical network approach featuring the leading data center interconnect and disaggregation platform, an open SLTE interworking with an open terrestrial line system, and a powerful open software suite for all management and service tasks. With these elements, the formerly separated submarine network can be integrated with the terrestrial network and provide resilient end-to-end connectivity with an outstanding degree of network security. Coriant solutions for submarine-terrestrial convergence offer numerous benefits including minimized CapEx with faster innovation capabilities, reduced vendor lock-in, and end-to-end service provisioning along with the ability to increase network capacity quickly and cost effectively with simple stackable upgrade options.

Check out our latest solution note, Submarine POP-to-POP Technology, for more information on the building blocks and benefits of Coriant submarine-terrestrial convergence.

While network operators have increasingly disaggregated the DWDM element of inter-data center transport adopting open muxponders, such as the Coriant Groove™ G30 MUX, and open line systems, such as the Coriant Groove™ G30 OLS, the packet switching element of today’s inter-data center transport still typically consists of chassis-based routers.

In my last blog (Bringing Disaggregation to the Closed Chassis-based Router World), I explained how a disaggregated router approach can replace traditional closed, proprietary routers with a new open paradigm based on white boxes, a hardware-independent NOS, VNFs, and SDN. But how does this new paradigm apply to data center interconnect? Here are the top five use cases for the Coriant Packet DCI solution, which leverages both the Coriant Disaggregated Router and Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution to bring the benefits of disaggregation to packet DCI:

The Coriant Packet DCI solution is ideal for extending the data center fabric between geographically dispersed data centers. In addition to traditional Layer 2 and Layer 3 data center fabric options, it can also support virtualized fabric options with support for both the VXLAN protocol and the EVPN standard.

The Coriant Packet DCI solution can also provide the IP backbone for inter-data center connectivity based on IP/MPLS or segment routing. For this application, the white boxes are loaded with a version of the Coriant NOS originating from Coriant’s proven and scalable IP/MPLS software.

The Coriant Packet DCI solution provides an ideal platform for Internet Exchange Providers (IXPs) and CNPs to provide distributed internet exchange services based on VPLS, EVPN-MPLS, or EVPN-VXLAN. Exchange members can easily monitor their current traffic utilization and trends based on historic utilization via the Coriant Transcend™ customer portal.

The Coriant Packet DCI solution also provides an ideal platform for cloud connect services, connecting customer servers to cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. Leveraging BGP, these customer servers could be in the same data center, a remote data center, or a customer premise connected to the data center over a CSP’s network.

Routers have an important role to play in addressing the key operator challenges of strong traffic growth, new latency-sensitive applications, scaling IoT, and migrating to 5G. However the closed, proprietary architecture of today’s chassis-based routers results in vendor lock-in, slowed innovation, and high costs, with capacity typically limited by the chassis backplane and number of slots. So what is the alternative?

Disaggregation, of course. Line cards and fabrics become white box switches, either generic white boxes or carrier-grade white boxes such as the Coriant® Vibe series. A leaf/spine architecture provides the ability to scale the fabric by adding or replacing spine switches, and to grow line card capacity by adding or replacing leaf switches. Ethernet-based optical interconnects replace the chassis backplane. The router’s protocol software is replaced with a hardware-independent NOS (Network Operating System) such as the Coriant NOS. The controller function of the traditional router moves to the SDN controller, and in Coriant’s case, to the virtual Fabric Controller (vFC) within the Coriant Transcend™ Symphony SDN controller, which hides the complexity of multi-node systems. Additional services such as CGNAT, BNG, EPC, firewall, IPSec, and DPI that in the past may have require dedicated modules in the chassis or standalone devices can instead now be supported with Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) hosted on the white boxes or on standard x86 servers.

And the benefits? Achieve faster innovation with the ability to upgrade hardware and software functional blocks based on their own renewal cycle, minimize CapEx with reduced vendor lock in, and avoid large upfront investments in the chassis, fabrics, and controllers. In addition, reduce OpEx with SDN-enabled automation and portals replacing proprietary CLI-based configuration.
For more information on this important topic, see the new Coriant Disaggregated Router solution note.

Optical equipment vendors are evolving coherent technology with support for higher capacity wavelengths in order to meet network operator demands for increased bandwidth at a lower cost and to support new client interfaces such as 400 GbE and FlexE. To do this, they have two primary levers: the baud rate, the number of symbols per second, and the modulation, the number of bits per symbol. Each has its advantages, as shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1 - Higher Order Modulation vs. Higher Baud Rates

To understand their relative advantages, let us look at what happens if we double the wavelength capacity, starting with a 100G wavelength based on QPSK modulation and 34.5 Gbaud. If we do this by doubling the bits per symbol by going from QPSK (2 bits per symbol) to 16QAM (4 bits per symbol), this increases the number of constellation points by a factor of four, making the wavelength approximately four times more sensitive to noise and nonlinearities. As shown in Figure 1, the reach is decreased to approximately 25%, but we have doubled the spectral efficiency.

Figure 1 - The Impact of Doubling Wavelength Capacity

If instead, we double the baud rate to 69 Gbaud, we double the sensitivity to noise and nonlinearities, which by itself would reduce the reach to 50%. However, we get most of this reach back as we can pump more power into the wavelength with fewer nonlinear penalties as the power is spread over 69 GHz rather than 34.5 GHz. This typically puts the reach of the 69 Gbaud 200G at around 90% of the original 100G wavelength. The price to be paid for this is the wavelength now has half the spectral efficiency of the 16QAM 200G alternative.

Figure 2 - Baud Rate Use Cases

But is a higher baud rate always better? While for flexi-grid networks, as a general rule, higher is better, there will be boundary scenarios where lower baud rates can provide the better result in terms of spectral efficiency. And while 50 GHz point-to-point networks can support baud rates up to 46 Gbaud, 50 GHz mesh ROADM networks will be typically limited to under 35 Gbaud. This is why the recently announced Coriant CloudWave™ T Optics provides the ability to select from a wide range of baud rate options between 28 Gbaud and 69 Gbaud.

Connecting customers with innovation that easily and quickly translates into tangible business value remains a key differentiator for customer-centric organizations. As digital transformation accelerates and the market witnesses a new wave of disruptive innovations, the means by which suppliers connect customers to innovation is undergoing a fundamental shift.

Digital transformation has unleashed a wealth of new revenue opportunities for network operators around the world. But seizing those opportunities requires staying ahead of the innovation curve and taking advantage of technology advances purpose built for new service enablement and cost-disruptive operational economics. Can a single supplier address the breadth of customer demands in a rapidly evolving communications environment?

One of things that I learned in recent discussions with executives at leading network operators and enterprises around the world is that they are looking for an unbiased approach to end-to-end solutions from their suppliers. With an expanding ecosystem of innovation unfolding and end-user demands changing at dizzying speeds, they no longer want to, nor can they afford to, rely on a single vendor alone. Network architectures and end-to-end service infrastructure are evolving to open, disaggregated, and software-driven models that leverage fast innovation cycles and facilitate the introduction of best-in-class products for specific applications. A multi-sided platform approach to end-to-end solution value complements these industry trends by enabling network operators to maximize the business value of breakthrough innovations.

Multi-sided platform innovation ecosystems can offer customers unique value creation mechanisms that accelerate the deployment of new revenue-generating services. This is especially the case in emerging IoT, 5G, Industrial Internet, cloud, and Multi-access Edge Computer service segments. In these markets, the difference between the success and failure of a service roll-out can depend not only on access to best-in-class innovation, but also the ability of the multi-sided platform broker to provide the end-to-end solution testing, integration, and lifecycle management capabilities that help resource-constrained customers quickly and efficiently transform technology innovation into revenue.

Google’s Android model is a useful analogy of how an open, multi-sided approach to ecosystem innovation has resulted in enhanced end-user value. By facilitating the collaborative intersect of handset manufactures, application developers, and users, Google has helped transform communications and provided a fast track to the market introduction of best-in-class innovations in both hardware and software. And end users appear to be very pleased with the outcome of this multi-sided platform business strategy and open business model.

The communications services business is no different. We believe that end-user value creation in today’s fast paced enterprise and cloud services market will ultimately depend on the ability of a network operator to tap into and quickly implement the latest technology innovations, which are increasingly coming in diverse forms and from diverse sources. Providing this innovation intersect is at the heart of our new multi-sided platform ecosystem initiative.

]]>5 Options for Migrating SONET/SDH Networks to OTN/Packethttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/11/17/5-options-for-migrating-sonetsdh-network-to-otnpacket
Fri, 17 Nov 2017 19:44:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Optical Solution Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/11/17/5-options-for-migrating-sonetsdh-network-to-otnpacketAlthough spending on SONET/SDH infrastructure has declined over the past decade, the technology persists in many networks and reliably performs valuable network functions such as mobile network synchronization and delivers highly profitable services to risk-averse end customers. However, in addition to costly maintenance contracts, obtaining replacement parts can be a challenge as equipment manufacturers discontinue platforms and/or specific modules due to component obsolescence. Legacy SONET/SDH equipment also typically requires a larger footprint and higher power consumption relative to next-generation packet optical platforms. Together, these challenges result in high operational costs.

With its universal switching of packet, OTN, and/or SONET/SDH, the Coriant® mTera® Universal Transport Platform (UTP) provides a range of options for lowering operational costs without losing the high margin revenues generated by legacy SONET/SDH. Examples of migration options enabled by the mTera UTP together with other solutions in Coriant’s packet optical portfolio include:

1. Replace Legacy SONET/SDH Core Switches with the 1.68 Tbps mTera UTP
One simple migration option is to keep the SONET/SDH ADM rings and replace the core switches/DCSs with the mTera UTP as a high-capacity STS-1/VC-4 switch. With the SSM-2S modules, the mTera 14-slot shelf can provide up to 1.68 Tbps of STS-1/VC-4 switching in 19RU, and the mTera 8-slot shelf can provide up to 960 Gbps in 10RU (23-inch rack) or 12RU (ETSI or 19-inch rack). Additional benefits include reduced power consumption and footprint with STS-1/VC-4 switching at less than 3 W per Gbps and up to 96 Gbps per rack unit leveraging the mTera UTP SONET/SDH to OTN interworking. STS-1/VC-4 traffic can also be mapped to OTN and transported over high speed 100G and flexi-rate (100G/150G/200G) line interfaces.

2. Scale Ethernet over SONET/SDH with a Packet Switched Core
Another option is to leverage mTera UTP SONET/SDH to packet interworking, taking Ethernet over SONET/SDH traffic from the ADM rings, terminating the SONET/SDH, and then mapping the Ethernet traffic into a packet switching instance on the mTera UTP. In this way, the full packet feature set of the mTera can be extended to Ethernet interfaces on the ADMs, and end-to-end Ethernet services can be delivered over multiple transport switching domains.

3. Migrate SONET/SDH Rings to Universal Transport with the mTera UTP
Network operators also have the option to extend the benefits of universal transport to the SONET/SDH rings by replacing either entire rings or individual nodes with either the higher capacity 14-slot mTera or the more compact 8-slot mTera. Where there is a need to support lower speed TDM interfaces such as T1/E1, the Coriant® 7090 Packet Transport Solutions CEM platforms can complement mTera UTP rings with the ability to provide TDM Circuit Emulation Services (CES) over MPLS-TP with support for T1/E1, DS3, OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, and OC-48/STM-16 interfaces.

4. Replace SONET/SDH Rings with OTN ADMs and STS-1/VC-4 Switching in the Core
OTN ADMs provide another option for migrating SONET/SDH rings. The 2RU Coriant® 7100 Pico™ Packet Optical Transport Platform can provide a compact 100G ADM with a pair of HGTM-MS2 100G muxponder/ADM modules. Alternatively, a 10G ADM option is available with the OMM-X module, which provides two 10G/OTU2 line interfaces and eight low speed SFP client ports. SONET/SDH traffic can be mapped to ODU0s, ODU1s, or ODU2s and then transported over the 10G or 100G OTN ring to the mTera UTP.

5. Replace SONET/SDH Rings with Packet/TDM CES Rings
An additional option for the SONET/SDH rings is to migrate them to packet switching based on MPLS-TP, including VPLS/H-VPLS, with TDM CES for the TDM interfaces, leveraging the 7090 CEM Series. Benefiting from the granularity and statistical gains of packet, these rings can be used to deliver both Ethernet and TDM services through the mTera UTP as it provides a scalable core packet switch with the additional ability to perform SONET/SDH and OTN switching.

]]>100G+ Transport: Building Best-of-breed SD-Access Architectureshttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/10/23/100g-transport-building-best-of-breed-sd-access-architectures
Mon, 23 Oct 2017 16:12:00 +0000Dieter Kortmann and Harald Bock, (DK) Director, Partner Management Europe and (HB) VP, Network & Technology Strategyhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/10/23/100g-transport-building-best-of-breed-sd-access-architecturesBroadband fixed and mobile network operators can’t compromise. They must be able to scale quickly to meet capacity demands for new services and applications. They must escalate operations to run mobile, residential, and enterprise on the same infrastructure to address the evolving requirements of IoT and cloud computing. But how do they meet these demands while reducing space, power, and footprint? Coriant and ADTRAN are committed to delivering best-of-breed open, programmable, and scalable solutions. Merging highly scalable CORD-based physical layer agnostic SD-Access architectures with high performance, low power 100G+ aggregation and transport affords our customers cost-effective rapid service innovation while providing the highest QoE and optimal service choices for subscribers.

Coriant is leading the charge for scalable, open, and disaggregated solutions in the hyperscale era. Empowered with the Coriant Groove™ G30 Network Disaggregation Platform, operators for fixed, mobile, and Cable MSO networks can leverage the multiple benefits of the pay-as-you-grow solution to adapt to evolving end-user demands. New services can be introduced with the installation of pluggable components in a 1RU Groove chassis. Coriant is simplifying our customers’ experience while embedding the smartest, next-generation technology in the smallest hardware – all while embracing the open platform concept to help our customers avoid vendor lock-in. Coriant customers move to the next level in operational efficiency and configuration flexibility with the Groove advantage: lowest power, lowest footprint in the market for an Open Line System and transponder/muxponder solution, and open and standardized control APIs.

To learn more about the Groove G30 in combination with ADTRAN’s leading open broadband access architecture, visit the ADTRAN booth at the Broadband World Forum, October 24-26, 2017, in Berlin.

Disaggregation is a recent telecommunications industry topic driven by the pressure to reduce costs, the limitations of network design, and IT integration needs. Since the definition of disaggregation is not always consistent in the industry, we will first describe the Coriant definition to clarify our discussion. Coriant disaggregation concentrates on a separation of functions to form meaningful building blocks. Through open interfaces, these separated functions can be connected in a multi-vendor environment, while open APIs enable an orchestrator to provide seamless system integration, which conceals the complexity of one network element that is split into multiple network elements.

Cost reduction is a significant advantage of disaggregation. Technology can be introduced into existing equipment without having to overhaul the infrastructure, thus keeping costs at a minimum. Separate functions can be updated incrementally. Along with the concept of disaggregation, a new approach to managing the network becomes imperative. The introduction of the new IT through an SDN controller and orchestrator is an integral evolutionary step for managing different functions working together in an integrated system. In some circumstances, this new IT operating model may be a stronger driver for disaggregation than cost savings. For instance, highly profitable companies may be more concerned about increasing market share than reducing costs. With these businesses, the revenue opportunities instead of the cost savings may be the most compelling reason to implement a disaggregation solution. By deploying a small disaggregated network element, businesses can accelerate the introduction of new connections and services and speed time to revenue while addressing end-user demands for faster, better service. A higher degree of network automation and intelligence enables service providers to focus on customer requirements and minimize the effort to run the network.

As businesses evolve with industry demands for more automated and virtualized operations, they will also need to adapt to new network capabilities and control. Coriant is committed to helping our customers achieve the added value and increased revenue opportunities available through disaggregated solutions. The Coriant Groove™ G30 Network Disaggregation Platform delivers the innovation of a standalone transponder and the promise of disaggregation benefits to help businesses succeed. Coriant solutions offer seamless network transformation and the following key strengths to take businesses to the next level of optical core evolution:

Best optical layer for challenging fiber situations

Best footprint and power consumption

Highest network availability at the lowest cost

Universal hardware for a future-proof investment

Best network utilization with Coriant Aware™ Technology

]]>5 Ways to Save Costs and Grow Revenues with Universal Switchinghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/09/14/5-ways-to-save-costs-and-grow-revenues-with-universal-switching
Thu, 14 Sep 2017 15:02:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Optical Solution Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/09/14/5-ways-to-save-costs-and-grow-revenues-with-universal-switchingAvailable on the Coriant® mTera® Universal Transport Platform (UTP), universal switching enables the switching of OTN, packet, and SONET/SDH natively over universal fabrics. The mTera OSM modules further provide the ability to define each interface, and even virtual interface, for OTN switching, MPLS-TP (VPWS, VPLS, and H-VPLS) and Carrier Ethernet (VLAN cross connect and bridging). SONET/SDH switching is enabled by the mTera SSM-2S module. Comprehensive interworking between the different flavors of packet, OTN, and SONET/SDH is also supported.

Great! But how can universal switching help network operators address their key challenges of reducing costs and growing revenues? Here are five good ways:

1. Offer OTN, Packet, and SONET/SDH Switched Services on a Single Platform
Universal switching enables a single platform to provide switching for OTN, SONET/SDH, and the multiple flavors of packet switching. These different switching types can be supported simultaneously, sharing the same common equipment, fabrics, interface modules, and even interfaces, which results in significant savings in terms of CapEx, footprint, and power consumption relative to the alternative of multiple single technology switches. Furthermore, the ability to reassign physical resources between switching types enables network operators to quickly respond to changes in traffic patterns and to quickly provision new services as their customers’ requirements evolve.

2. Reduce 100G+ Interface Costs with OTN, Packet, and SONET/SDH Switching on the Same Wavelength
100G+ DWDM interfaces typically represent the most expensive part of any DWDM network. Minimizing the number of 100G+ wavelengths also has significant benefits in terms of spectral efficiency and prolonging the life of optical layer assets. The ability to map packet switched and SONET/SDH switched traffic alongside OTN traffic into ODUks enables the same 100G+ DWDM interface to carry multiple switching types, and delivers significant benefits over using individual wavelengths for each switching type. And while an OTN switch can also support different client protocols on the same wavelength, universal switching enables the more efficient switching of each protocol in its native format at each universal switch.

3. Deliver End-to-end Services that Span Multiple Different Switching Domains
Universal switching provides the ability to offer end-to-end services that span the multiple transport switching domains without back-to-back interconnects, and provides operators with an opportunity to grow revenues without significant additional CapEx. This functionality is enabled by the interworking capabilities of Coriant universal switching.

4. Maximize the Value of IP Router Investments with Efficient Aggregation and Layer 2 Service Offload
Universal switching provides network operators with several opportunities to maximize the value of their investments in IP routers. Where OTN switching is used for transport to, from, and between IP routers, OTN/packet interworking enables the grooming of ODUs from a large number of locations onto a smaller number of high speed Ethernet ports. Router efficiency can be further enhanced by offloading traffic that does not require IP processing at any particular node, such as Layer 2 Ethernet services and internet traffic that can be expressed between the edge router and the internet router.

5. Extend Packet Switched Services to Nonpacket Edge Devices
While the majority of services are now packet-based, nonpacket devices such as OTN muxponders or OTN ADMs provide an attractive solution for the network edge due to their low cost and simplified configuration and management. Universal switching enables network operators to cost effectively extend packet switching services to these nonpacket edge devices. Packet traffic is mapped to ODUks on the OTN muxponder/ADM before being transported to the universal switch. At the hub site, these ODUks are terminated and packet traffic is mapped to virtual ports of the packet switching instance in the universal switch. In this way, the packet switching capabilities of the universal switch can be extended to remote nonpacket devices.

]]>Seize the Advantage: Maximize the Use of Existing Fiberhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/08/03/seize-the-advantage-maximize-the-use-of-existing-fiber
Thu, 03 Aug 2017 17:29:00 +0000Rodrigo Garcia and Jari Kivimaa, (RG) Senior Customer Solutions Consultant and (JK) Principal Solutions Consultanthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/08/03/seize-the-advantage-maximize-the-use-of-existing-fiberIs your network maximizing the use of each strand of fiber? With the ever-increasing demand for high speed connectivity to access cloud service providers and to interconnect data centers, costs can skyrocket with excessive investment in new fiber cable. Coriant can help you address this challenge and avoid the cost of new fiber infrastructure with our bidirectional fiber solution. Based on the Coriant Groove™ G30 Network Disaggregation Platform (NDP) and bidirectional CFP2-ACO DWDM line interfaces, the Coriant solution supports diverse configurations for short or long optical reach and a low or high number of client ports, including the following applications:

Enterprise Cloud Connection – Connecting on-premises enterprise infrastructure to the cloud provider can require a few high speed, low latency connections. With the Coriant solution, the Groove G30 NDP single fiber configuration can provide a cost-effective solution by minimizing the number of leased fibers necessary and adding only a minimal incremental cost.

Metro DCI – Due to the diverse types of requirements, the Coriant bidirectional solution with the Groove G30 NDP supports a variety of client ports and reach combinations through the use of different filters on passive and amplified configurations.

Intra-Data Center/Campus-DCI – For maximum fiber utilization, the Groove G30 NDP single fiber solution can be configured for the large number of client ports and the short reach required within or between campus data centers.

The Coriant bidirectional fiber solution delivers multiple benefits including the opportunity to increase reliability with a 50% reduction in the number of mechanical connections in the transmission fiber, a reduction in operational costs when leasing fiber cable, and the enhancement of existing single fiber direct detect systems with 200G bidirectional coherent solutions without traffic interruption.

]]>Photonic Integration: Innovation from a DWDM Systems Perspectivehttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/07/11/photonic-integration-innovation-from-a-dwdm-systems-perspective
Tue, 11 Jul 2017 20:41:00 +0000Harald Bock, Vice President, Network & Technology Strategy, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/07/11/photonic-integration-innovation-from-a-dwdm-systems-perspectiveExisting data and cloud networks, distribution of video content, and new applications such as IoT, Smart Home, and 5G mobile are all driving the escalating demand for networking capacity. In fact, the total energy consumption of communications devices and networks has been increasing faster than the world energy consumption overall. With this growth, reducing the costs associated with increasing power consumption and footprint have become a major objective for network operators as well as equipment manufacturers. Key technologies supporting this need to evolve networks more efficiently are electronic and photonic integration with silicon photonics (SiP) in particular driving innovation in this field.

Analyzing the Technology in Optical System Design

Innovation in small form factor and low power consumption almost to this day has always been based on a combination of several technologies and elements including electronic integration, photonic integration, and miniaturization. A wide menu of technologies is available that helps with the integration of functions required to reduce the size and power consumption of a full optical system. In fact, a number of different elements are often used simultaneously.

Photonic Integration in the Evolution of Optical Networking Equipment

We know that the main benefit of any kind of photonic as well as electronic integration is a reduction in the power and size of systems. But it is always useful to look back to understand just how fundamental those improvements are. Figure 1 illustrates the increase in equipment density achieved from the previous days of 10G/wavelength WDM systems to the current >100G/channel DWDM networks based on coherent transmission.

It was around the turn of the millennium when optical network nodes consisted of racks of equipment. DWDM systems alone filled several racks, while switching equipment filled additional ones. Individual optical functions required cards in several slots – and often full shelves were used for ROADMs or for a single add/drop function.

Around 2006, a new generation of DWDM systems reduced power consumption and size substantially. With these advances, optical functions were integrated on cards. For example, full add/drop functionality was available on a single card or a full network node was contained in a single shelf. And technology advances did not stop there. Looking at where we are today, optical functions are not on cards but in pluggables and network nodes are located in a flatpack or pizza-box format with up to 3.2 Terabits of bidirectional interface capacity in 1RU. This represents impressive progress with very compelling economic benefits that are playing out in key applications such as Data Center Interconnect (DCI).

This rather impressive track record of integrating optical functions from shelves into cards and still further into optical pluggables, as well as the increase of line rate per slot from 10G to several times 100G is enabled by a combination of technologies and approaches such as photonic and electronic integration as well as miniaturization.

Exploring the Future of Optical Integration

Optical interfaces are the main focus of innovation as they represent the major part of the system level space and power requirements. Combining the electronic integration of 400 Gbps into a single digital processing chipset with silicon photonics integration into CFP2-ACO pluggable interfaces provides the highest density and lowest power optical DWDM technology available today. The optical transmission layer follows this evolution by optimizing to new line rates. Also, a transition to truly open line systems removes vendor lock-in and speeds up the introduction of new optical interface technologies.

The progress in electronic and photonic integration enables a continuous evolution towards ever more efficient and scalable networking equipment. Silicon photonics integration has started to play an important role in this context and will become an increasingly important alternative to other technologies. This innovation evolution coincides with the long term vision of full custom SiP optical ASICs enabled by the fabless technology model. With increasing investments into SiP technology, we can expect a significant contribution from this disruptive technology in the years to come.

]]>Is Your Optical Network OLS-ready?http://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/06/19/is-your-optical-network-ols-ready
Mon, 19 Jun 2017 22:30:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Optical Solution Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/06/19/is-your-optical-network-ols-readyThe Open Line System (OLS) approach, disaggregating WDM transport into best-in-class functional blocks with open APIs enabling end-to-end SDN management and control, promises to reduce vendor lock-in and speed innovation while enabling competitive pricing throughout the network lifecycle, which leads to both lower CapEx and lower OpEx. While data center interconnect provided an initial beachhead for this approach, especially among Internet Content Providers (ICPs) with their focus on innovation and scaling bandwidth and their early adoption of SDN, the benefits of OLS are starting to make it an attractive option beyond its initial DCI niche and for other types of network operators including Communications Service Providers (CSPs).

However, while the OLS approach offers many potential advantages, traditional approaches, including integrated WDM (i.e., line system + transponder/muxponder) and converged packet optical, also have advantages as shown in the following table.

For network operators who want to migrate to multi-vendor OLS at their own pace or at least maintain the option to do so when the time is right, the following strategies provide options:

1. Deploy an OLS-ready Integrated Platform
For many operators, a traditional WDM solution or a converged packet optical platform will be the best option, at least in the short-to-medium term. However, it is important to select a solution that can evolve to support OLS approaches in the future. Look for power monitoring, optical link control, optical layer resilience, planning and commissioning that can support third party interfaces, and open APIs.

2. Deploy Disaggregated Muxponders Over an Existing Line System
Coherent optical technology has evolved rapidly since its introduction in the last decade. Network operators who selected their optical vendor several years ago may be faced with stale pricing and sub-optimal technology. A simple solution to these problems is to introduce optimized solutions such as the Coriant Groove™ G30 Network Disaggregation Platform Muxponder configuration. This solution delivers spectrally efficient coherent transport over the existing DWDM line system with the potential for dramatic savings in cost, power, and footprint.

3. Deploy a Single Vendor OLS Solution
OLS approaches with multiple vendors create challenges in interoperability, troubleshooting and support, planning, and integration into non-SDN OSS environments. Initially deploying both the OLS and traffic bearing functional blocks from a single vendor can provide many of the benefits of the OLS approach together with many of the benefits of a traditional integrated solution. Examples of how Coriant can provide a single vendor OLS solution are shown below.

]]>Faster, Simpler Wavelength Provisioning Enabled by Coriant Aware™ Technologyhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/05/03/faster-simpler-wavelength-provisioning-enabled-by-coriant-aware-technology
Wed, 03 May 2017 14:00:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Optical Solution Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/05/03/faster-simpler-wavelength-provisioning-enabled-by-coriant-aware-technologyOptical networks have traditionally been planned and managed by separate tools. Offline planning tools have been used for designing and optimizing the network and for finding and validating paths through the network for new wavelengths. Network management systems (NMS) perform lifecycle tasks including commissioning, service provisioning, fault management, and maintenance. Today’s operational models for new wavelength planning and provisioning typically fall into one of three categories:

Planning Tool-Centric: An offline planning tool is used to find the optimal valid path through the network or to validate a preselected path. Provisioning a new wavelength is achieved by then pushing the configuration from the planning tool to the network elements. Benefits of this approach include optimal reach/capacity, minimized risk, and provisioning accuracy. However, this approach has disadvantages in terms of provisioning speed, operational costs, and potentially security if planning is outsourced to a third party.

Hybrid: The offline planning tool is used for planning and the NMS is used for provisioning. While offering many of the advantages and disadvantages of the planning tool-centric approach, the main difference is that while this approach could be slightly faster than the first approach, it incurs a risk that the provisioned path does not match the planned path if a mistake is made when entering the path manually.

Planning Lite: The third approach to new wavelengths, more commonly used in metros with less challenging reach requirements, is much lighter on planning and optical path validation. Instead, this approach relies on rules of thumb. The NMS is used to provision wavelengths while leveraging the planning tool only to validate the most challenging paths, if at all. While this approach can work well in a metro environment offering fast provisioning times and low OpEx, it still involves a degree of risk or reduced reach and becomes less suitable as metro wavelength speeds evolve beyond 100G.

While each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages, they all force network operators to make trade-offs between reach/capacity, operational costs, speed of activation, security, and risk. To avoid these trade-offs Coriant has enhanced its Transport Network Management System (TNMS), leveraging the Optical Performance Engine (OPE) component of the Coriant Aware™ Technology toolkit, to integrate the planning function for new wavelengths and the modification of existing wavelengths. The OPE enables this integrated optical planning with accuracy that matches, or even exceeds, best-in-class offline planning tools – yet with the real-time performance required for provisioning, rerouting, and other time-sensitive use cases.

Benefits of integrating the planning function for new wavelengths into TNMS include:

Faster Service Activation: By eliminating the need to separately plan wavelengths in an offline planning tool, by reducing the number of steps in the wavelength activation process, and by eliminating boundaries between planning and provisioning organizations, new wavelength activation can be accelerated significantly.

Reduced Operational Cost: In addition to the reduced number of steps in the wavelength activation process, operational costs are further reduced as new wavelengths can now be planned and provisioned without needing to draw on skilled planning tool experts.

Maximized Reach and Capacity: Capacity can be maximized with the OPE able to identify valid options for flexi-rate interface settings (modulation, baud rates, FEC options, etc.) and super-channels, including the most optimal options. Furthermore, with live network data including residual margin from the Margin Processing Engine (MPE) component of Coriant Aware™ Technology, reach and capacity have the potential to even exceed best-in-class offline planning tools by eliminating margin stacking and improving the power level setting.

Increased Security: For many network operators the specialist skills required to make the most effective use of sophisticated offline planning tools leads them to outsource this activity to the optical equipment vendor. This can create a concern for security conscious end-customers, as sensitive topology and provisioning data needs to be shared with a third party. An NMS with integrated planning can avoid this.

Moving beyond a discussion of the sheer volume of traffic growth, optical core evolution encompasses consumer and business user expectations for consistently high performance in high-bandwidth applications. While users value data speed for always-on connections in our networked world, as technology continues to advance, software control increases and simultaneously requires even faster and more reliable communications to ensure highest performance. Our current Internet of Things (IoT) culture focuses on data collection and analysis, but the future will present centralized applications and new concepts such as smart roads that control traffic streams and self-driving cars that elevate human safety concerns. Mandatory fast and reliable connectivity will be crucial. In fact, network reliability and assured connectivity will become such a basic requirement that users will no longer be willing to pay more for it.

Even in our fast-forward environment of innovation, some key applications continue to require the integration of legacy transport technologies such as SDH/SONET or PDH. Network operators may need solutions that address legacy compatibility while also transitioning to packet technology, since some devices will only be marketable with state-of-the-art IP connectivity. An ideal solution is the universal switching architecture offered by the Coriant® mTera® Universal Transport Platform (UTP) that is uniquely adaptable to both TDM and packet.

An important differentiator of service and support excellence is rapid performance monitoring and effective troubleshooting. Operators need a network solution that can provide or change services with a single command and react with online speed. Coriant addresses this challenge with its Coriant Aware™ Technology whereby network elements continuously provide performance data to a central SDN-based system enabling a swift reaction to any service interruption or critical network situation and the ability to provide or change services and even wavelengths in real time. Various applications can be built which use the optical performance data. In an example scenario, an Optical Path Computation Engine (OPE) in an NMS or SDN system analyzes real-time information from the network to calculate the best path rather than using a sophisticated offline tool or fiber characterization data gathered a long time ago. Live data may even indicate that a better path, either another traffic path or a protection path that is preferable due to free capacity/bandwidth or latency, can be enabled. The OPE then recommends a change to the currently routed path. This automated process provides a significant improvement in the response to network changes. Manual effort for the operator is reduced to a simple confirmation of the path change, which saves costs and frees operations staff to focus on other important business activities.

While high service availability is feasible in networks today, the industry could use some improvement in providing the high service availability cost effectively. Ready to tackle this challenge, Coriant offers innovations including:

Providing differentiating sub-50 msec protection with only one transponder

Offering an in-service OTDR for faster reaction to fiber cuts

Delivering latency aware routing and path protection

Currently developing resiliency concepts for super-channels in flexi-grid networks

Coriant solutions ensure cost-effective service flexibility to address evolving customer experience requirements for the highest level of performance. Through our innovations, Coriant consistently offers technology that enables our customers to meet the demands of today and tomorrow. From the mTera UTP universal switching ideal for dynamic, high-bandwidth applications to the hiT 7300 Multi-Haul Transport Platform with optimized scalability, flexibility, and efficiency, Coriant solutions are driving down costs for network operators while elevating performance for high-bandwidth applications.

]]>Coriant Aware™ Technology: “Like IoT for your optical network”http://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/03/21/coriant-aware-technology-like-iot-for-your-optical-network
Tue, 21 Mar 2017 12:00:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Optical Solution Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/03/21/coriant-aware-technology-like-iot-for-your-optical-networkAttending Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this month, I was struck by the parallels between one of the key themes of the show, IoT, and some exciting new technology we at Coriant announced recently and are demonstrating this week at OFC in Los Angeles. IoT has many use cases and applications, from the infamous smart fridge reordering milk for you to industrial IoT optimizing supply chains and streamlining manufacturing processes. IoT-enabled smart manufacturing provides visibility of each unit of production at each step in the supply chain and through the production process. This visibility enables business processes to be streamlined and supply to better match demand. Coriant Aware™ Technology aims to provide a similar level of enhanced visibility for optical networks – just replace “unit of production” with “wavelengths” and “supply chains and manufacturing processes” with “optical network.”

Coriant Aware™ Technology addresses a number of limitations that lead to slow provisioning times for new wavelengths, increase operational costs, and limit reach and capacity in today’s optical networks. These limitations include planning tools that lack real-time data from the optical network and therefore have to stack margin to accommodate worst case scenarios, coherent receivers that are not able to measure OSNR or residual margin, and NMS, SDN, and ASON/GMPLS implementations that lack the sophisticated optical performance models of offline planning tools. As the network becomes more dynamic with the adoption of SDN and the evolution of flexi-rate interfaces with a wider range of modulation schemes and baud rates, these limitations will impose an increasing cost on network operators.

The OPE combines the accuracy of a best-in-class offline planning tool with the real-time speed necessary for wavelength activation, Layer 0 restoration, and other demanding optical use cases. The OPE responds to path validation requests from the path computation function within the NMS, SDN, or ASON/GMPLS control plane. With optical models that consider both linear and nonlinear effects, the OPE generates the valid options for each requested path including modulation types, baud rates, FECs, frequencies, and power levels, enabling the best options, including flexi-rate interface settings and super-channel options, to be selected.

The MPE gathers performance monitoring data from across the network including both the coherent receivers and per channel power monitoring capabilities of the optical network elements and uses this data to provide accurate real-time values for the residual margin of each channel. Residual margin is the most useful measure of received signal quality and determines how much room there is for the signal to degrade without impacting the error-free operation. Residual margin is impacted by OSNR, linear impairments, and nonlinear impairments. Accurately assessing the residual margin requires accurately determining the impact of all three of these.

Delivering significant benefits in terms of reduced CapEx, increased revenues, and reduced OpEx, Coriant Aware™ Technology enables increased reach/capacity through reducing or even eliminating margin stacking and by enabling better setting of the power levels due to awareness of the residual margin. It provides the opportunity to monetize margin as extra capacity that can be sold to customers for shorter duration services.

Coriant Aware™ Technology enables faster and simpler new wavelength planning and provisioning. In addition to reducing the number of steps, boundaries between planning and network management are eliminated. New wavelengths can now be planned and provisioned without needing to draw on skilled planning tool experts. It can also enable SDN or ASON/GMPLS restoration with reach/capacity that goes from underperforming to exceeding today’s offline planning tools. In addition, visibility of the residual margin can enable proactive downtime prevention such as discouraging the use of adjacent channels, optimizing power levels, or reducing the bit rate.

]]>Think Outside the Box: Planning a Pluggable Optical Mesh Networkhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/03/16/think-outside-the-box-planning-a-pluggable-optical-mesh-network
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 21:57:00 +0000João Pedro, Line Manager, Multilayer Performance Optimizationhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2017/03/16/think-outside-the-box-planning-a-pluggable-optical-mesh-networkSince its inception, the Coriant® Pluggable Optical Layer has achieved industry recognition as an innovative solution that is helping operators deploy flexible and cost-effective optical metro networks to meet a broad range of applications – with minimum upfront capital expenditures and pay-as-you-grow scalability. A key differentiator of the Pluggable Optical Layer is the remarkable flexibility to support a wide variety of configurations each tailored and optimized for specific applications. The Pluggable Optical Layer enables network designers to flexibly employ any or all of the following network capabilities while selecting exactly and only the specific features required for the particular application:

The most straightforward Pluggable Optical Layer applications include point-to-point links, spur extensions, and small chains and rings with hub-and-spoke traffic. Unlike ROADM networks, fixed filter based networks introduce fixed channel plans (i.e., specific predefined channels are dropped and passed through individual nodes), and this constraint is easily accounted for when planning these simple applications. However, while taking advantage of the flexibility of the Pluggable Optical Layer solution to deploy more meshed applications, it becomes significantly more complex to optimally design these networks using fixed channel plans. The added design complexity combined with limitations of traditional fixed filter based solutions has resulted in many network operators foregoing fixed filters and choosing to deploy more expensive ROADM solutions.

This was the case when we were recently asked by a customer to design a solution for a 20-node mesh network. While the customer would traditionally have been offered a comparatively expensive ROADM based solution, we knew that the Pluggable Optical Layer could enable us to provide a unique and lower cost solution. It was also clear that planning was going to play a critical role in designing a cost-effective solution to meet all of the customer’s requirements. With deep expertise in planning optical networks, the Coriant team had in-depth knowledge of the challenges of designing mesh networks and knew how to best leverage the Pluggable Optical Layer in more complex applications.

The fundamental difficulty of designing Pluggable Optical Layer based mesh networks is the strong interdependence between selecting filters and routing services over the optical infrastructure. Part of this difficulty is that people and conventional planning algorithms tend to approach problem solving via sequential and only locally optimal decisions, which have been shown to be unsuitable when such a strong interdependence is present. In particular, applying these principles when designing a more complex network with the Pluggable Optical Layer would have required a large effort only to achieve solutions whose cost would be far from optimal.

The complexity of this customer application was therefore perfect to try-out a novel “outside-the-box” design strategy developed by our planning and design engineering team to optimize pluggable-based optical mesh scenarios. In order to overcome the limitations of traditional approaches, we relied on mathematical-based optimization models, more precisely Integer Linear Programming models, which enabled us to simultaneously model filter selection and routing and solve the design challenge in a single integrated step.

For the 20-node mesh network, the mathematical model for the Pluggable Optical Layer comprised around 13,000 variables and 9,500 equations. By running the framework on a powerful computer server, it was possible to reduce what would have been a 3-day manual effort to just 2 hours of computer processing – enabling us to arrive at an optimized solution that was 70% less expensive in terms of filters compared to the solution obtained by conventional methods! Not only did we far exceed the response time the customer was looking for, we also demonstrated how it was possible to easily and cost effectively design large and complex mesh scenarios with the Pluggable Optical Layer, broadening the range of applications where this innovative solution can be used for the lowest upfront capital expenditures.

We have since used the novel planning framework in other Pluggable Optical Layer planning exercises for customers around the world, demonstrating value unmatched by conventional approaches. This is just one example of how Coriant innovative thinking develops both technological network solutions, such as the Pluggable Optical Layer, and best-in-class design methods that can maximize the benefits of those solutions, ultimately meeting and even exceeding customer expectations for capacity, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.

For the second blog in our series on optical core technology trends and evolution, we turn our focus to the new IT, namely, Network-as-a-Service (NaaS). The new IT is defined by IDC, a leading global analyst firm, as the 3rd Platform built on cloud, mobility, social media, and big data analytics. Enterprises are engineering their IT around these four 3rd Platform technologies offering new opportunities for infrastructure evolution and changes in traffic patterns to meet end-user demands such as immediate and efficient e-commerce, always-on connections, and real-time intelligent analytics. New requirements that stem from new IT solutions are changing enterprise business models.

Enterprises generate traffic demand that is projected to increase by 18% from 2015 through 2020 (Source: Cisco VNI). Effectively, this new traffic is a business booster for the communications service provider (CSP) as it grows more slowly than consumer traffic but delivers a higher value per bit. These increases in traffic volume are moving in parallel with efficiencies gained by outsourcing IT equipment, including savings from centralized air conditioning and power supplies, on-site maintenance, and the advantages of more frequently updated technology by renting rather than owning compute and storage capacity. At the same time, outsourcing IT equipment creates an even greater need to efficiently manage WAN connectivity to ensure smooth business operations. The new approach to WAN requires an online interface that enterprises can use to manage network operations and provision and monitor connectivity services directly.

Centralizing the new IT to data centers eases the DevOps method of introducing and managing IT services. By achieving a higher level of communication and collaboration among different groups in the same organization, products and services are developed and implemented faster with more reliability and efficiency. Using the DevOps approach, enterprises can quickly introduce, implement, and manage IT services. With the combination of centrally located IT equipment, an online interface for simplified and direct control, and a cohesive organizational approach to service delivery and operations, enterprises can speed processes and reap the benefits of improved productivity.

Aligning with these technology trends, CSPs need to provide a simplified network view to the enterprise. Through an online interface and SDN-based applications, enterprise IT can design, provision, monitor, and manage new connections and services. The enterprise should be able to function as if it owns the WAN network, even as it is managing only predefined network segments offered as a NaaS by CSPs.

Likewise, CSPs are adopting similar processes by allowing different internal departments to access a single, common Optical Core as if it were separate, optimized Optical Core networks. This helps CSPs to address different market segments with diverging technical needs and operational speeds with a single, resource-efficient Optical Core network.

Addressing this IT evolution, the Coriant® Optical Core Solution enables fast service delivery and highest availability for data center traffic. Coriant helps customers leverage the advantages of NaaS with software based intelligence, a dedicated services team, and a robust portfolio of platforms to prepare enterprises, data center operators, and CSPs alike for the escalating traffic demands of end-users and the evolving requirements of the new IT. A solution such as our DCI disrupter, the Coriant Groove™ G30 DCI Platform, propels centralized IT infrastructure and services to the next level of space and cost savings and speeds time to revenue. The Groove solution is designed for the high-density, high performance demands of the data center. In addition, the Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution offers next-generation OSS migration to speed up IT processes, automated end-to-end and multi-layer service provisioning and restoration, and network aware service planning and provisioning. Coriant solutions help enterprises and CSPs achieve a competitive edge in a fast-forward world of unrelenting network demands and dynamic connection requirements.

As technology evolves, networks must be prepared to handle new service and application requirements. Dramatic bandwidth growth intensifies the challenges of delivering the highest network performance at the lowest cost. From cloud computing and storage to video streaming, to the significant increase in mobile data access and devices, network capacity is pushed to the limit by everywhere, anytime access in the evolving communications landscape. Not only must capacity increase but market trends demand more advanced functionality, changes in network architectures, and changes in operational modes, procedures, and models. Four notable trends include:

Expanding network capacity due to significant traffic growth

Redefining the role of IT with a strong focus on new data center traffic patterns

Elevating the customer experience with ensured service availability

Disaggregating the optical layer which offers the opportunity for new product concepts

Video Dominates
Networks are under pressure from the continuing traffic explosion, in part from an increasing number of devices streaming an increasing number of videos. Based on the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI), internet video dominates consumer traffic in networks and will increase with a CAGR of 31% from 2015 to 2020. Video has become the new voice communication that requires more and more capacity. When once voice was the key driver to expand telecom networks, today, video is now the main driver for network buildouts. Network operators must address these ultra-high capacity demands with purpose-built, robust, and scalable solutions capable of effectively meeting end-user expectations now and into the future. At the same time, network operators are challenged to reduce costs with smarter solutions for expanding capacity. Networks must be re-architected to handle more capacity while driving down costs, for instance, by caching video content closer to the customer edge, which reduces the need for network buildouts. Simultaneously as internet traffic continues to run through the metro and optical core, data centers are reshaping existing traffic flows and requiring new designs. The dynamic changes presented by video are strongly influencing the evolution of transport networks.

Mobility Offers Strong Growth in Business Value
The always-on mentality for consumers and businesses alike is shaping the growth of mobile traffic. While mobile encompasses a small portion of the total traffic, the business value per bit for network operators is far beyond any other traffic type. Specifically, metro edge and metro core networks are faced with continued demand for new technologies to serve this traffic. The introduction of 5G will set the bar on technology requirements higher than ever. 5G will not only provide higher bandwidth to users, it will also support the Internet of Things (IoT) requirements with a narrow bandwidth, low power mode. Critical requirements for IoT are centered around extremely short latency of 1 msec while addressing the surging number of supported devices. IoT will impact metro architecture and pull micro data centers to the edge of the network to reduce the latency and handle smart preprocessing of data.

Cloud Traffic Changes Network Structures
Data center traffic patterns include data center to data center (DC to DC) and data center to user (DC to user). Both traffic flows leaving the data centers are expected to increase strongly through 2019 per the Cisco VNI with DC to DC traffic growing at a CAGR of 31% and DC to user traffic increasing by 25%. This substantial growth is triggered in part by a new IT trend: outsourcing IT equipment from the customer premises to the data center. IT outsourcing has pushed intranet traffic into the internet generating new traffic. However, not all data center traffic is new, and it still addresses the same users with the same or similar content. Traffic flows are reshaped with efficiency gains pushing data center buildouts due to evolving traffic patterns. This new IT trend will be discussed further in another blog.

Keeping Costs Down
Since revenues do not scale with traffic growth, the need to reduce CapEx and OpEx for network buildouts is a key focus area for optical core evolution. Two considerations are site and fiber related expenses:

To lower site related costs, Coriant offers solutions that can reduce the number of sites in a network while minimizing hardware installations and OpEx at each site. Leveraging solutions that increase bandwidth per lambda and reach per bandwidth deliver the strongest cost reductions, but optimizations such as fine tunable bandwidth provide additional benefits.

Fiber related costs are by far the highest expenses an operator may face (consider new buildouts). Thus, increasing capacity and improving utilization of existing fibers is paramount. Capacity can be boosted with 400G wavelengths and L-band support. In addition by taking optical impairments into consideration, network operators can accurately plan and ensure optimal fiber utilization.

Coriant is instrumental in empowering network operators to tackle the challenges of network and optical core evolution – all with focused attention on minimizing costs, enabling benchmark low power consumption, and reducing footprint. The Coriant edge-to-core portfolio offers optimized solutions to smoothly transform your network with next-generation capabilities and embrace the newest network trends and requirements.

]]>Delivering Cost-effective Growth in the Metrohttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/12/08/delivering-cost-effective-growth-in-the-metro
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 18:42:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Optical Solution Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/12/08/delivering-cost-effective-growth-in-the-metroMetro network operators are faced with a number of challenges. Bandwidth is growing strongly, with many network operators seeing traffic growth of 30% per year or more in the metro, driven primarily by internet video. Enterprise traffic is also escalating significantly as enterprises migrate their IT to public data centers and cloud services, driving the demand for cloud connect services and increasing Ethernet service bandwidth by close to 30% per year. Another key trend driving the metro is data center interconnect, with the number and scale of data centers in key metros continuing to grow strongly, together with a push to distribute data centers closer to users in order to reduce latency and enable new cloud-based services.

The following examples demonstrate how Coriant metro transport solutions can enable cost-effective growth:

Fabricless switching in the 7100 Nano and Pico enables switching to be added incrementally without the need for an upfront investment in fabrics.

Universal switching in the mTera UTP offers cost savings by mixing OTN, SONET/SDH, and packet traffic on the same 100G interface while also providing investment protection against changing traffic patterns and client types with the ability to define interface and sub-interface protocols in software.

With the Pluggable Optical Layer, new functionality can be easily and cost effectively added or replaced by swapping pluggables, while preserving investment in those pluggables that do not need to change. The Pluggable Optical Layer delivers CapEx savings of up to 30% relative to traditional solutions based on individual module per function or system-on-a-blade architectures.

Converging packet and optical layers in the same shelf can also deliver CapEx savings of up to 25%, relative to separate platforms for packet and optical.

Leveraging the optical express capabilities of ROADM-on-a-blade enables wavelengths to be quickly and cost effectively added to the network. However, while not every network needs ROADM on day one, the Pluggable Optical Layer offers FOADM to ROADM upgrade with the cost-effective addition of WSS pluggables.

In terms of network management, TNMS improves network efficiency and enables cost-effective growth through network discovery of nodes and services in real time to ensure that its database is always synchronized with the network while also delivering end-to-end multi-layer service provisioning. TNMS also provides a future-proof solution with the ability to seamlessly transition to SDN and to migrate from one packet protocol to another (e.g., from VLAN cross-connect to MPLS-TP).

]]>How Converged Packet Optical Can Reduce Costs & Increase Revenueshttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/10/18/how-converged-packet-optical-can-reduce-costs-increase-revenues
Tue, 18 Oct 2016 13:59:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Optical Solution Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/10/18/how-converged-packet-optical-can-reduce-costs-increase-revenuesApplications including Ethernet and cloud connect services, fixed broadband aggregation, mobile backhaul, and SONET/SDH migration are driving network operators to deploy both WDM optical transport and packet transport technologies. And while the case for both of these technologies is compelling, a key question facing network operators is whether to deploy packet transport and WDM-based optical technologies as two separate platforms or as a single converged platform.

While proponents of separate platforms might argue that this approach better enables best-in-class technology at each layer or that it avoids the waste of using backplane-enabled slots for optical modules, the case for a converged platform, which at a minimum integrates packet switching technology with full featured WDM interfaces and WDM technology including ROADM, is becoming increasingly compelling in terms of CapEx savings, OpEx savings, and faster time to revenue.

Reduced CapEx

By integrating the packet and optical layers into the same network element with full featured WDM interfaces on the packet hardware, short-reach interconnects between the packet switch and the transponder/muxponder in the DWDM equipment and the transponders/muxponders themselves can be eliminated. Consolidating packet switching and DWDM into the same shelf can reduce the cost of common equipment including the shelves, control processors, fans, and power supplies resulting in an overall CapEx savings of up to 25%.

Reduced OpEx

By eliminating the need for separate transponders/muxponders and consolidating DWDM modules and packet switching in the same shelf, the total footprint required can be reduced substantially relative to separate systems. For example, rather than deploying two 5RU shelves, one for optical and one for packet, a single 5RU shelf could be deployed with footprint savings of 50%, though 30% may be a more typical figure for less simplistic scenarios. Likewise, the elimination of transponders and short-reach interconnects together with a reduction in common equipment can have a similar impact on power consumption with reductions of up to 40%.

A converged platform further reduces operational costs with fewer network elements to install, manage, and maintain. This is especially true where a single multi-layer network management system can provide end-to-end service discovery, provisioning, and troubleshooting with consistent tools and workflows across both packet and optical transport technologies.

Increased Revenues

Converged packet optical can also deliver increased revenues by offering faster time to revenue, improving customer retention, facilitating new customer wins, and enabling new services. Revenues for new services and customers can be realized months sooner with faster installation and service provisioning. Time to service readiness can also be a key factor in winning new customers and retaining existing ones. Finally, packet optical may enable new service offerings in terms of service speeds (i.e., 100GE), scope (EVPLAN, E-Tree, etc.), and/or geographic coverage, depending on the current network architecture and service offerings.

]]>Teaming with Telecom Italia to Advance Next Generation Optical Transmissionhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/09/22/teaming-with-telecom-italia-to-advance-next-generation-optical-transmission
Thu, 22 Sep 2016 15:44:00 +0000Antonio Napoli, Coriant R&Dhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/09/22/teaming-with-telecom-italia-to-advance-next-generation-optical-transmissionAt this week’s ECOC 2016 conference, we were pleased to present the results of a leading-edge WDM field trial conducted in collaboration with Telecom Italia, as well as the Technical University of Munich, and the Technical University of Eindhoven. This field trial was implemented over a Telecom Italia EDFA-only legacy link (612 kilometers) with 0.3 dB/km average fiber attenuation, and featured single carrier 200G WDM DP-4QAM, DP-8QAM and DP-16QAM successfully transmitted with system OSNR margin of 4.1dB, 4.3dB, and 2.6dB respectively at the relative FEC thresholds.

The successful field trial showcased best-in-class coherent optical transmission and cutting-edge technology innovation, including Coriant CloudWave™ Optics, a key photonic layer technology that combines a leading signal processing engine, advanced integrated photonics, and software programmable line side modulation to bring a new level of optical performance, efficiency, and scalability to infrastructure networks.

]]>Maximizing Transport Network Availability Cost Effectivelyhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/09/21/maximizing-transport-network-availability-cost-effectively
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 18:00:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Optical Solution Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/09/21/maximizing-transport-network-availability-cost-effectivelyThe need for network availability has never been higher. Driven by applications including mission-critical e-health and process optimization in manufacturing, the 5G PPP is targeting 99.999% availability and “zero perceived” downtime. One major North American operator recently announced that it was aiming to improve its offering by guaranteeing customers “six nines” (99.9999%) availability.

Causes of network downtime include fiber cuts, transport equipment failures, site failures including loss of power and cooling, human error, long repair times, and even fiber quality degradation. Common options for maximizing network availability include network protection and restoration and eliminating single points of failure in the network element common equipment.

However, in reality higher availability normally comes at a cost, and not all services the transport network needs to support have the same requirements. The correct strategy will depend on a variety of factors including the risk of fiber cuts or other non-equipment related failures, the content of any Service Level Agreements, the mix of services and the required availability for these services, and the role of the transport network in the multi-layer strategy for high availability. However, the following five suggestions may be useful when selecting packet optical transport solutions that can deliver high availability cost effectively:

Solutions for 1+1 protection including 1+1 OCh and 1+1 OMS that avoid the need to duplicate expensive coherent line interfaces can provide a highly cost-effective solution for surviving fiber cuts and other failures. Coriant even has solutions for delivering 50 ms fail-over times for coherent signals, which can be highly challenging due to the need to retune the DSP, and in colorless scenarios, detect the failure even though the receiver is seeing multiple channels and not able to rely on Loss of Signal.

Look for solutions that can deliver a wide range of protection and restoration options.

Metro and long haul transport solutions that support a wide range of protection and restoration schemes enable operators to tailor the resiliency mechanism to the desired availability for each individual connection or service. Coriant’s transport solutions support protection options including client facility protection based on Link Aggregation and APS/MSP 1+1 and client side network protection including Y-cable. Line side protection options include 1+1 OCh at the optical layer, SNC for OTN and SONET/SDH, G.8031 VLAN protection and G.8032 ERP for Carrier Ethernet, and 1:1 protection for MPLS-TP. 1+1 OMS and 1+1 OTS are also supported as described in the first bullet. Key features of Coriant’s ASON/GMPLS control plane include dynamic restoration and the ability to combine protection and restoration.

Look for a solution that cost effectively delivers high node availability.

High node availability is a cost-effective insurance policy against a single point of failure taking out all the traffic passing through a node. Examples of ways in which Coriant has made this solution cost-effective include fabricless switching in the Coriant® 7100 Nano™ Packet Optical Transport Platform and Coriant® 7100 Pico™ Packet Optical Transport Platform, 1:5 redundant fabrics in the Coriant® mTera® Universal Transport Platform where a single backup fabric is able to protect five active fabrics, and the 7100 Pico which uses the processors on the port cards to run the system software.

Look for a solution that delivers low cost features to reduce human error and speed repair times.

Examples of key features within the Coriant packet optical transport portfolio that can reduce human error include integrated ROADM-on-a-blade in the 7100 Series and mTera® UTP that minimizes the risk of cabling errors. Coriant’s long haul solutions support Rack and Stack where the rack will be configured in the factory based on planning tool files and shipped as is to speed installation and reduce the risk of human error. Manual error is also minimized by point-and-click provisioning in Coriant® Transport Network Management System (TNMS) and tight integration between the planning tools/path computation engines and TNMS.

Furthermore, fast repair times are enabled by extensive performance monitoring including per channel power monitoring which is supported across the optical portfolio. Performance monitoring and fault management is supported at multiple layers including OTN, Carrier Ethernet Y.1731/802.1ag, and MPLS-TP. Coriant’s optical solutions also support integrated OTDR for quickly and accurately locating fiber cuts.

Don’t cut corners on upfront planning.

Finally, accurate network planning is a key requirement for maximizing network availability in optical transport networks that is often overlooked. The starting point for this activity is accurate fiber characterization, which is a service that can be provided by Coriant and its partners. Sophisticated planning tools can then take this information and accurately model the optical layer ensuring sufficient margin for end of life.

]]>Emergence of Silicon Photonics in Coherent Metro and Core Transport Networkshttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/09/15/emergence-of-silicon-photonics-in-coherent-metro-and-core-transport-networks
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 13:52:00 +0000Dr. Marc Bohn, Head of Research and Technology, Coriant GmbHhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/09/15/emergence-of-silicon-photonics-in-coherent-metro-and-core-transport-networksDespite being a fairly mature technology with years of research behind it, silicon photonics is just recently finding its way into commercial applications in the telecom industry. So far, the application range for silicon photonics has been rather short distances, with focus mainly on datacom applications. However, silicon photonics is being proposed for, and already being used in, longer distance applications such as 100G Data Center Interconnect (DCI) and metro transport.

In a feature article in the autumn issue of FibreSystems Magazine, Dr. Marc Bohn, head of research and technology at Coriant GmbH, explores the challenges of silicon photonics in metro and long haul applications, and compares this emerging technology against traditional technology approaches. Will upcoming technology advances in silicon photonics be able to support the required bandwidth increases at lower per costs per bit? Can those challenges be overcome and help drive wider adoption of silicon photonics in metro to optical core transport applications? Check out the article to learn more.

]]>5 Reasons to Integrate OTDR into Optical Transport NEshttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/09/07/5-reasons-to-integrate-otdr-into-optical-transport-nes
Wed, 07 Sep 2016 14:00:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Optical Solution Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/09/07/5-reasons-to-integrate-otdr-into-optical-transport-nesOptical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) technology has been around since the early 1980s as external test devices used primarily for fiber characterization before a network is deployed. Similar to an acoustic echo, an OTDR transmits pulses of light into the fiber under test and then analyzes the light that is returned through scattering (Rayleigh scattering) or reflected back from points along the fiber. This analysis can be used to determine the length and attenuation of the fiber and the location and severity of reflections including the location of any fiber cut.

High Level OTDR

A number of trends, however, are driving OTDR technology to be integrated into DWDM equipment. These trends include the demand for ever higher levels of network availability, increasing concerns about security including intrusion and optical line tapping, and the increased use of Raman amplification to extend the reach of OSNR-sensitive 100G+ modulation including 8QAM and 16QAM. Furthermore, OTDR technology has undergone significant miniaturization and steep cost reductions. These trends are enabling Coriant to provide the option of cost-effective, integrated OTDR technology in DWDM equipment across the Coriant optical transport portfolio, including the Coriant® hiT 7300 Multi-Haul Transport Platform, Coriant® mTera® Universal Transport Platform, and Coriant® 7100 Packet Optical Transport Solutions.

But what are the use cases for integrated OTDR? Here are my top 5:

Fiber Testing

An integrated OTDR can be used for out-of-service testing of the fiber both before the span has been commissioned and the amplifiers turned on as well as after an event such as a fiber cut, which could have had a negative impact on fiber quality. While fiber characterization is highly recommended before the network is planned to ensure accurate performance modeling, testing again with an integrated OTDR provides useful insurance against any changes that may have occurred between the pre-deployment characterization and the time of deployment, including ensuring that the fiber pair is the same and the SLA of any leased fiber is still being met. This is especially important when Raman amplifiers are used. Raman amplifiers shoot powerful lasers into the fiber and reflections caused by bad splices can permanently damage the Raman amplifier, the fiber itself, or both. An integrated OTDR can also be used to check the quality of any repairs made before the Raman amplifiers are turned back on after a fiber cut.

Example Fiber Testing Results

Identifying the Location of Fiber Cuts for Fast Repairs

Speeding time to repair can have a significant impact on network availability. One of the key functions of an OTDR is to use reflections to accurately identify the exact distance to the fiber cut. Previously, this required sending engineers with an external OTDR test kit to one or both of the sites adjacent to the failed span before the location of the cut could be identified. By integrating the OTDR into the DWDM network element, the location of the cut can be identified immediately after it has occurred, potentially reducing the Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) by hours or even days.

Fast and Accurate Location of Fiber Cuts

In-Service Identification of Increased Fiber Attenuation

Integrated OTDRs can also be used to identify increases in attenuation while the span is in service and more significantly identify the location of any increase in attenuation. This can provide an important component of a proactive downtime prevention strategy – identifying and resolving problems before they impact services.

Intrusion Detection

Tapping of the DWDM signal by an intruder to snoop or intercept the data passing through represents a worst case scenario and potentially catastrophic security breach. A key strategy to detect such an intrusion is to spot the change in attenuation that a breach would incur. An integrated OTDR not only provides the most accurate way of measuring this change in attenuation but can also be used to pinpoint the location of the intrusion.

Historical Data Collection

A final key application is the manual or scheduled collection of OTDR data for a span (OTS). This enables the comparison of historical versions of the OTDR data (i.e., at installation, after fiber cut, after second fiber cut) with the support of the network management system or other software tools to perform fiber trending analysis. For example, this type of analysis could be used to provide more accurate modeling of end-of-life conditions.

]]>Coriant and Netcracker Demonstrate SDN-based Multi-vendor, Multi-domain Network Controlhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/08/31/coriant-and-netcracker-demonstrate-sdn-based-multi-vendor-multi-domain-network-control
Wed, 31 Aug 2016 13:30:00 +0000Scott Larson, Vice President, Corporate Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/08/31/coriant-and-netcracker-demonstrate-sdn-based-multi-vendor-multi-domain-network-controlService provider networks have been under pressure for years to evolve to more dynamic yet coordinated operations. In particular, most network operators face the critical challenges of multi-vendor service creation, control, and restoration. Traditionally, different vendor domains are managed separately via vendor-specific network management systems, and in many cases the different domains are managed by staff from different organizational groups within the operator. With this set of challenges as backdrop, I am very excited to introduce a new Solutions Brief that highlights a joint solution between Coriant and Netcracker.

The joint Coriant and Netcracker SDN solution demonstrates efficient service provisioning from a single GUI over several vendor domains, as well as innovative capabilities for network service restoration in a single domain or across multiple domains to achieve both high resiliency and cost control. It shows how intelligent pre-integration can help to speed up network deployment times within an SDN-based architecture. Multi-vendor network orchestration can help network operators save OpEx, as it enables much faster service deployment and improved rerouting times. The integrated network and centralized multi-vendor service provisioning capabilities will drive service agility and allow operators to create innovative, vendor-specific applications to speed up network innovation and new services for end-users. In addition, it will help save CapEx by allowing other departments in the operator organization to share network resources and by helping to create a true multi-purpose network. The innovative joint solution will prompt a greater understanding of the business value of SDN-enabled network control and drive the implementation of SDN architectures in optical transport networks.

]]>Real-world Study Puts Quantified Value of OTN Switching in Perspectivehttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/08/24/real-world-study-puts-quantified-value-of-otn-switching-in-perspective
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 15:00:00 +0000Paul Momtahan, Director of Optical Solution Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/08/24/real-world-study-puts-quantified-value-of-otn-switching-in-perspectiveIn March of this year, we posted a new white paper on the The Role of OTN Switching In 100G & Beyond Transport Networks. This white paper compares a number of simplified scenarios to illustrate the point that OTN switching can result in a significant savings in terms of the number of 100G line interfaces relative to a transponder/muxponder-based solution when the traffic pattern is distributed. It also examined the additional benefits of universal switching in qualitative terms, highlighting router port optimization, a wider range of Ethernet services, cost savings from the granularity and the statistical gains of packet switching, and the ability to mix different traffic types on the same 100G line interface.

Telecom Italia reference network topologies

Last month, the IEEE published a paper, “Comparative Assessment of Network Architectures for Transporting Packet and TDM Traffic” that has direct relevance to the topic of OTN switching in evolving transport architectures. This paper, authored by Coriant’s Bodhisattwa Gangopadhyay, João Pedro, and Stefan Spӓlter, was presented at the 21st European Conference on Networks and Optical Communications (NOC2016) conference in Lisbon in June. The paper includes results of a comprehensive network study performed as part of the EU-funded IDEALIST project, using a published model by IDEALIST partner and Tier 1 carrier Telecom Italia SpA. The network topologies considered in the detailed study are two long distance optical transport networks inspired in networks operated by Telecom Italia/TIM.

Italian National Backbone

Pan-European Network

Period 1

Period 2

Period 1

Period 2

Muxponder/Transponder

970

1058

1628

1742

OTN Switching

624

770

744

966

Hybrid OTN Packet

538

718

624

830

100G Coherent Line Interfaces

This paper powerfully illustrates a number of key points from the white paper with real-world network examples. Firstly it compares a “switchless transparent” scenario with muxponders/transponders and ROADMs used to create express point-to-point wavelengths with a scenario that includes pure OTN switching. In the national backbone scenario OTN switching reduces the number of 100G coherent line interfaces by almost 36% (970 to 624) in period one and 27% (1058 to 770) in period 2 which reflects a doubling of packet traffic over four years. The pan-European case showed even greater savings with 54% in the first period (from 1628 to 744) and over 44% in period 2 (1742 to 966).

Client rate distribution in Italian National Backbone (I) and European (E) networks

An additional reduction in the number of line interfaces was achieved by leveraging the hybrid packet/OTN switching capabilities of universal switches such as the Coriant mTera® platform. In the national backbone case this reduced the number of 100G line interfaces by almost 14% in period 1 and 7% in period 2, while the pan-European scenario showed reductions of 16% and 14% respectively. These reductions were achieved primarily due to the fact that a percentage of the traffic in the matrix was 1.25G and 2.5G (as shown above) and mapping this traffic to OTU2 interfaces results in additional line interfaces. The reduction in the line interfaces savings from Period 1 to Period 2 can be explained by the reduced percentage of low speed client interfaces.

CapEx savings comparison

However the real benefits of hybrid switching were the savings in router capex from the reduction and more efficient use of router ports with total saving between 35% and 45% as shown above. While each network requires its own study to quantify the benefits of OTN and universal switches, this study provides a powerful quantification of the benefits based on a real world network study.

]]>Joint leverage of SiPh and III-V as an Enabler for 400 GbEhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/08/16/joint-leverage-of-siph-and-iii-v-as-an-enabler-for-400-gbe
Tue, 16 Aug 2016 14:29:00 +0000Dr. Robert Palmer, Senior Lead Engineer, Coriant R&D GmbHhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/08/16/joint-leverage-of-siph-and-iii-v-as-an-enabler-for-400-gbeIn an article published this month on Lightwave Online, we took an in-depth at the topic of 400 GbE services and the underlying technologies that will help us get there. In order to achieve a wide-scale adoption of 400 GbE, the economics versus 100 GbE need to deliver a significantly lower cost per bit. However, this is not self-evident when considering the first generation of proposed 50G PAM4-based 400 GbE interfaces. This technology requires new enablers, and there is currently no industry consensus on which technology basis is a better fit. The long-standing discussion of Silicon Photonics (SiPh) vs. III-V has been led by companies owning the respective technologies and has often been impeded by political considerations rather than objective technological capabilities.

In the article I explore the evolution of client interfaces from 100 GbE to 400 GbE, analyze the required subcomponent building blocks that enable a new level of scalability in optical manufacturing, and compare the two basic technologies SiPh and III-V against one another.

]]>MEF-based Service Orchestration through Standardized Interfaceshttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/08/11/mef-based-service-orchestration-through-standardized-interfaces
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 15:00:00 +0000Bernd Pruessing, Director of Solutions Marketing, Network Software, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/08/11/mef-based-service-orchestration-through-standardized-interfacesWhen I talk with customers, end-to-end service orchestration, especially through standardized interfaces, is always a very hot topic, and it is usually discussed extensively. One of the interesting standardization areas where we see progress in architecture and interface definition related to service orchestration and control is the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF). The MEF interface specification related to MEF 55 is under work and once completed will cover L2 and L3 services focusing most certainly on Carrier Ethernet, but it is also valuable for IP VPN or MPLS services and other services as well.

MEF, an alliance founded in 2001 with currently more than 220 member organizations, was formed with the mission to accelerate the worldwide adoption of carrier-class Ethernet networks and services. MEF’s work includes the development of specifications as well as the certification of carriers’ services and equipment and the education of professionals around the world. Services defined by MEF match a wide range of requirements for voice, video, and data over converged business and residential networks and allow operators to implement an agile, programmable, and reliable network for their end customers. MEF outlined these service options by defining the five key attributes of Carrier Ethernet:

Standardized Services like E-Line, E-LAN, E-Tree, etc.

Scalability in bandwidth and number of services

Reliability via a broad scale of different protection options

Quality of Service with a wide range of service provisioning and supervision options

Service Management with a huge number of options to monitor and diagnose the network

In 2013, MEF formed the Service Operations Committee. The mission of this committee is to streamline and standardize processes for buying, selling, delivering, and operating MEF-defined services. With this mission, the work of MEF goes much beyond hardware specifications for the network layer. MEF defines interfaces and functional blocks to stimulate the homogeneous development and implementation of management and control systems at vendors and operators. This work allows operators and vendors to implement cost-efficient modular network management and control software for efficient and agile network operation.

The concept and specification of LSO unleashes the agility and flexibility of Carrier Ethernet services through the implementation of a standardized service orchestration layer, but the concepts can also be applied to services like IP VPN, MPLS, etc. LSO defines high level functional requirements as well as an outline for a reference architecture and the corresponding Management Interface Reference Points which can be realized by APIs.

As a member of MEF, Coriant together with some key customers has implemented an NBI on the Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution that closely follows the emerging MEF specifications. The Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution provides significant Carrier Ethernet management and control functionality for service provisioning and maintenance. The Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution is a modular SDN software suite that combines the benefits of an open, programmable, and automated multi-layer SDN software platform and a proven portfolio of Carrier Ethernet, IP/MPLS edge routing solutions, and packet optical transport to enable dynamic end-to-end network control (see also SDN Network Software Evolution). The NBI considers the requirements of the PRESTO (SOF:ICM) management interface reference point in the LSO reference architecture. The Coriant implementation of the NBI is based on the MEF draft interface specification and can be easily adapted as soon as the final standard is available.

According to MEF 55, the PRESTO (SOF:ICM) management interface reference point manages the network infrastructure, including network and topology. Additionally, it allows a Service Orchestrator to request the Infrastructure Control and Management Layer (ICM) to create connectivity. Vice versa, ICM can expose resources and capabilities for the managed domain toward an orchestration layer.

]]>Demonstrating Orchestrator Agnostic SDN E2E Service Enablementhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/07/28/demonstrating-orchestrator-agnostic-sdn-e2e-service-enablement
Thu, 28 Jul 2016 13:02:00 +0000Bernd Pruessing, Director of Solutions Marketing, Network Software, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/07/28/demonstrating-orchestrator-agnostic-sdn-e2e-service-enablementIn a recent Proof of Concept (PoC) trial, Coriant demonstrated the ability of SDN architectures and open REST-based interface definitions to reduce provisioning times and improve service restoration through the automation of operational procedures across multi-vendor transport domains. This multi-vendor Transport SDN trial was conducted with a leading provider of SDN orchestration, reinforcing the value of open and agnostic interoperability between different SDN controllers and an orchestrator to empower fast service provisioning and efficient end-to-end (E2E) service enablement.

The successful PoC trial featured test scenarios that included:

Service orchestration through a portal application

Fault handling

Automated restoration (preplanned and automatic calculated)

The scenarios were executed across a multi-domain transport network that included the Coriant® hiT 7300 Multi-Haul Transport Platform, providing a fully flexible optical layer with colorless, directionless, and contentionless optical switching functions and a third-party transport vendor. Orchestration of E2E service flows and multi-domain network discovery was provided by the third-party orchestrator, with the Coriant Transcend™ SDN Transport Controller supporting abstraction and virtualization of optical layer resources through open, standards-based SDN interworking. Resource orchestration of an automated and fully flexible photonic layer using a Transport SDN Controller, working in cooperation with an overarching SDN orchestrator, enables network operators to more fully utilize optical layer capabilities and innovations, while providing real-time interaction between a dynamic Layer 0 and the business services requesting access to a more agile, on-demand pool of service capacity.

The SDN-enabled architecture provides optical network programmability and control by hiding the complexity of the optical network in the control layer and providing functionality like impairment aware path computation element (PCE), simplified service creation, and alarm to service status mapping. This revolutionary approach addresses the operational complexities and inefficiencies of service provisioning in traditional heterogeneous transport networks. The positive results of this multi-vendor trial serve to validate key benefits of combining centralized network intelligence in a control and orchestration layer with a programmable transport layer, including reduced OpEx through simplified E2E service creation and elimination of manual configuration processes and CapEx reduction through optimal utilization of existing resources.

Leveraging open interfaces and standards-based interworking, Coriant employs an orchestrator agnostic transport controller strategy to ease integration and rapid implementation of a multi-domain Transport SDN architecture. The open architecture provides the foundation for customer service creation using a web-based portal that demonstrates the enhanced value that both network administrators and enterprise customers can realize in an SDN-enabled multi-vendor network. For network administrators, the web portal provides real-time visibility and control of end-to-end transport resources, reduces planning and design cycles, and enables simplified service ordering and configuration through automated processes and tasks. For the end-user customer, a self-service portal and user-friendly interface provides the ability to easily add new transport services on demand or adjust parameters of existing services based on changing business requirements, while simplifying management of their account.

This Transport SDN trial is part of a multi-phase initiative focused on exploring cutting-edge technology innovation to enhance the customer experience and reduce operational expenses. SDN-based interworking in an open, multi-vendor environment is one of the keys to network transformation and more profitable service delivery models. The Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution, which includes a best-in-class Transport SDN Controller, helps service providers unlock the true potential of SDN to cost effectively optimize the transport network and enhance the end-user service experience.

]]>Reaching for Optimal Performance in Tailor-made DCI Applicationshttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/07/21/reaching-for-optimal-performance-in-tailor-made-dci-applications
Thu, 21 Jul 2016 15:00:00 +0000Stefan Voll, Vice President of Product Management, Optical and NMS, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/07/21/reaching-for-optimal-performance-in-tailor-made-dci-applicationsFollowing a talk I gave two weeks ago (“Making 100G/200G Economical for DCI”) at the NGON 2016 conference, I had a lengthy discussion with a networking technology expert from one of our European customers, someone who is, as he likes to say, in the digital trenches of Data Center Interconnect (DCI). I was struck, but not completely surprised, by one very emphatic statement he made: “I wish DCI were a one-size-fits-all model, as it would make my life much easier. But it’s the farthest thing from it.”

This statement echoes what we hear from other customers as they retool their network architectures to capitalize on the fast moving trend toward enterprise cloud computing and a new content delivery model that is reshaping traffic distribution. The result is a growing need for cost-efficient and scalable connectivity to and between data centers, especially in regional and metro environments. The dimensions of these interconnect applications, however, are varied indeed, with evolving capacity demands and diverse configuration requirements and an ever-increasing demand for better space utilization and low power consumption.

These trends are among the key drivers for purpose-built DCI solutions that leverage innovations such as disaggregated designs and best-in-class components, including – and importantly – high-capacity transponder interface technologies optimized for different reach and performance targets.

In my talk, I discussed the economics of 100G+ interface technologies in the context of diverse DCI application scenarios. These transponder building blocks play a critical role in the ability of operators to efficiently and cost effectively leverage disaggregated solutions (in particular open platforms built with plug-and-play functionality and a high degree of modularity) and tailor their transmission infrastructure to meet diverse DCI applications spanning different segments.

There are essentially three different flavors to 100G+ interface technologies, each with different capabilities, as well as advantages and disadvantages depending on the DCI application:

These formats all provide a different application sweet spot. PAM4 provides lowest cost for CapEx and power consumption for a link bridging about 40-80 km but requires a specifically engineered DWDM line system with dispersion compensation and, therefore, does not address low channel count applications and more complex traffic scenarios effectively. Interoperable 100G will cause a somewhat higher cost for CapEx and power consumption but will provide decent regional reach and simplified operations due to the coherent detection modulation mechanisms. Flexi-rate BVT allows by far the highest capacity per fiber pair and the longest reach but also higher power consumption and more complex optics and electronics resulting in higher cost.

Direct Detect 100G

Plain Vanilla 100G

Flexi-rate BVT

Modulation

2x50G PAM4

1x100G PAM4

PM-QPSK with staircase HD FEC + proprietary

BPSK, QPSK, 8QAM, 16QAM, 64QAM and more

Form Factor

QSFP28, CFP2

CFP2-ACO + on-board DSP

CFP2-ACO / on-board optics + on-board DSP

Availability

2x50G: Now

1x100G: 2017

Now

32-45Gbaud: Now

64+Gbaud: 2017

Cost per Bit

Lowest

Low

High

Power per 100 Gbps

<4.5W

~18-25W

~40W

Reach

80-100 km, needs specifically engineered line system

HD-FEC: 600 km

SD-FEC: > 2000 km

From single-span to transpacific

Interoperability with Third Party

Depends on the PAM4 chip set

Yes (in HD-FEC mode)

No

Fiber Capacity

4.0 – 9.6Tb/s

9.6Tb/s

4.0 – 40Tb/s

Providing operators plug-and-play, best-in-class tools to be laser focused (no pun intended) on the diverse applications requirements of their DCI customers is one of the keys to adapting transport architectures and delivering the most economical reach/performance for DCI applications.

]]>Getting to the Core of Operational Intelligence and Service Agilityhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/07/13/getting-to-the-core-of-operational-intelligence-and-service-agility
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 18:00:00 +0000Alexander Niepel, Director, Solution Management Optical Corehttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/07/13/getting-to-the-core-of-operational-intelligence-and-service-agilityCoriant is built on over 35 years of technology innovation and serves leading operators in more than 100 countries around the world, including mobile and fixed line network operators as well as Internet Content Providers (ICPs). Many of our customers’ networks were built on the industry-leading ultra-long haul (ULH) Coriant® hiT 7300 Multi-Haul Transport Platform and its user-friendly network management system, Coriant® Transport Network Management System (TNMS), which gives operators speed and reliability when managing end-user customer services. Over time, the market needs of network operators changed, not only through tremendous traffic growth and shifting traffic patterns driven by cloud and data center communications, but also through increased competitive pressure and higher service quality expectations by their customers. These trends gave rise to new market requirements, which Coriant responded to by enabling enhanced agility via CD/CDC ROADMs, flexi-grid technology, and flexible bandwidth assignments, as well as by launching, among other innovations, the Coriant® mTera® Universal Transport Platform with its packet/OTN/SDH/SONET switching capabilities designed to increase wavelength utilization and service flexibility.

In addition, our technology leaders and key engineers focused on assessing the impact of these market trends and engaging in active discussions with the most advanced network operators. One outcome of these discussions was a targeted network architecture enabling operators to give their customers service creation and operation capabilities, typically referred to as DevOps.

The underlying network embodies a high level of abstraction and enables Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) business models. Overall, the Coriant portfolio concept is facing a huge paradigm shift: where in the past software was just a necessary enabling function to get new hardware capabilities into the field, now the software – or more specifically the operational needs – are leading the product hardware design and creating the foundation for a much more agile and programmable end-to-end, multi-layer architectural model.

Our newly introduced Coriant Optical Core Solutions Brief gives a comprehensive overview of optical network challenges and how we are shifting the focus of our solutions portfolio to benefit operators.

]]>What Does America’s Cup Racing and NANOG 67 Have in Common?http://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/06/29/what-does-americas-cup-racing-and-nanog-67-have-in-common
Wed, 29 Jun 2016 19:24:00 +0000Bill Kautz, Director of Strategic Solutions Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/06/29/what-does-americas-cup-racing-and-nanog-67-have-in-commonI recently attended the North American Network Operators Group (NANOG) 67 conference in Chicago where Coriant was one of the sponsors. This conference is for the network engineers and network software developers that work to keep our networks communicating, data centers interconnected, and the cloud operating. On the Sunday that preceded the main conference opening, the America’s Cup World Series was also taking place in Chicago, on the Lake Michigan lakeshore. It struck me how these seemingly very different activities actually have some fundamental things in common.

Listening to the NANOG conference technical presentations, I recognized a core set of common themes that were consistent across the various presentations. These included the objectives to increase the speed and data transport capacity of the network to meet the ever-growing requirements for bandwidth, to adapt to varying conditions by making the network more dynamic and responsive to applications, and at the same time maintaining network reliability and resiliency. These objectives are also at the core of building and racing America’s Cup sailboats. Both are trying to solve the same underlying problems:

The need for speed – Optical networking transmission has transitioned from 10G interfaces to programmable multirate 100G, 150G, and 200G coherent optical interfaces. Additional technologies like 400G single wavelength transmission and flexi-grid enabled super-channels will enable even higher capacities and speed. In terms of Layer 3 and above, the focus on improving speed and removing latency was apparent in conference presentations from TCP Fast Open to the various presentations on DNS and other topics. America’s Cup sailboats have likewise undergone a technology transition from monohulls to catamarans and now also incorporate hydroplaning to enable the sailboats to fly their hulls above the water to get the most speed possible. Winning depends on speed; this is true for both sailboat racing and transport networking for the cloud.

Adapting to varying conditions – One of the largest advances underway in networking, growing out of data center applications, is the transition to software defined networking (SDN). This technology enables the network to function better within and across multiple layers and ties the network to the application like it never could before – making it programmable. This enables a much more dynamic and agile network optimized to the application and adaptable to varying conditions. In terms of networking, this means that the data layer and optical layers can now work together for better performance and more efficient use of resources and improved resiliency. One of the key points made at the conference was that network engineers no longer need to understand configuring routers, but now need to understand how to write software to make the network behave the way that meets their requirements. Varying conditions are also at the heart of sailing America’s Cup sailboats. They must flexibly transition between catamaran sailing and high performance hydroplaning to maximize overall speed under varying water and wind conditions. The ability to exactly control the hydrofoils and wing sails are central to maintaining top performance and a competitive advantage.

Cannot sacrifice reliability and resiliency – Multiple presenters at the conference reflected on the requirement for reliability and resiliency in their networks. This is a challenge given the rate of technology change and the never ending requirement to make updates to the performance and capabilities of the network. Minimizing risk prior to introducing a change is a key focus for all network engineers. Simulation and pre-testing in a live but safe environment are tools that network operators can use prior to implementing a full cutover of changes in Layer 3 and above protocols and processes. This is exactly how the America’s Cup challengers are building up to the actual challenge next year in Bermuda. While being the fastest is the end-game, the boats must be reliable over the course of multiple races and safe for the crew. As a prelude to the actual America’s Cup challenge, identical AC 45s sailboats are raced in the America’s Cup World Series to give the crews the opportunity to become experts sailing these hydroplaning catamarans. In parallel, each team is testing modified AC 45s “sport boats” with updated proprietary technology that they hope will give them an advantage in the actual America’s Cup Challenge. Finally, the fifty foot AC50s that will be used in the America’s Cup Challenge will incorporate the technology updates that each team hopes will win them the right to challenge for the Cup.

In the end it’s about going faster, adapting to varying conditions and never losing focus on reliability and safety. This is true whether we are talking about America’s Cup racing or high-speed, adaptable data center interconnect networking – we all need to get our crews and data home safely. While my comparison between the networking and America’s Cup racing may be a bit contrived, I can say that the enthusiasm and commitment that I saw in the engineers at NANOG 67 to move the state of the art in network operations forward, was no less than the same that I saw from the America’s Cup World Series teams racing out on Lake Michigan.

]]>SDN Network Software Evolution – More Than Just a Controller…http://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/06/22/sdn-network-software-evolution-more-than-just-a-controller
Wed, 22 Jun 2016 07:00:00 +0000Bernd Pruessing, Director of Solutions Marketing, Network Software, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/06/22/sdn-network-software-evolution-more-than-just-a-controllerThe concept of Software Defined Networking (SDN) is arguably one of the most significant paradigm shifts in the telecom industry in the last few decades. It is not only a technology shift – it is also a change in the mentality of network operations and the operators’ workflows. With the new mentality of cloud software development, operators are quickly coming up to speed with the development of new software concepts and moving faster towards new, game-changing software products. This mentality change will need more than just a new piece of software in the shape of an SDN controller; it will need a fine-tuned set of software solutions and interfaces to provide the basis for a programmable and automated network management and control platform.

I am extremely excited to introduce Coriant’s new network software reference architecture and show the progress we have made since the beginning of the year. Leveraging collaborative work with key customers, we have extended and reshaped our software solutions to deliver the highest level of business value to our customers.

Following the introduction of the Coriant Transcend™ SDN Packet Controller in March 2016, we have been moving quickly to further advance our Network Software Solutions. In our most recent announcement, we highlighted significant new improvements to capabilities spanning service planning, control, and optimization in end-to-end packet optical transport networks. The new features extend the Coriant network software platform to a broader set of multi-layer (Layer 0-3) transport applications, enhance end-to-end service planning and optimization, and enable tighter integration between the Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution, Coriant® Transport Network Management System (TNMS), and Coriant’s network design and planning tools.

Seamless SDN and NMS Interworking – By leveraging common resources and algorithms, including Path Computation Element (PCE) and network databases, Coriant improves interworking between the Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution and TNMS platform. These enhancements allow services created via SDN to be automatically supervised in NMS and simplify transition from traditional network element-based to SDN-controlled multi-vendor environments. In addition, the solution now includes easy-to-use web-based portals and supports access for end-user customers on abstracted and virtualized networks, as well as tools for supervisory and maintenance access for network operators.

Improved Planning and Optimization – New TNMS software features provide more comprehensive support for full lifecycle tasks, including network planning, commissioning, maintenance, and optimization. Recently deployed in production Tier 1 networks, these intelligent optical control capabilities accelerate time-to-market for high speed services by automating operational tasks and improving efficiencies in service workflows.

Support for Packet Layer Services – Coriant expands the multi-layer capabilities of the Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution with support added for Carrier Ethernet (CE), MPLS-TP, and IP/MPLS packet networks and services and with APIs that follow MEF’s Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) reference architecture. These capabilities strengthen Coriant’s portfolio of MEF-certified packet solutions that include the industry’s first MEF 100G CE 2.0 certified product – the mTera® UTP – and pave the way for seamless integration into carriers’ open lifecycle service orchestration environment.

In addition to these enhancements, we are also introducing new capabilities for hierarchical control of Coriant and third-party equipment, as well as a series of applications for carrier management portals, customer portals for end-users to get access to their assigned virtual network domains, and customizable reporting portals and dashboards to simplify and ease network control workflows.

I will be demonstrating our latest Network Software Solutions for our customers and partners at our Coriant Exhibit Booth (#48) at the 18th Annual Next Generation Optical Networking conference, which takes place from June 28 – July 1 in Nice, France. Looking forward to seeing you there…

]]>Network Automation in Perspectivehttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/06/08/network-automation-in-perspective
Wed, 08 Jun 2016 15:00:00 +0000Bernd Pruessing, Director of Solutions Marketing, Network Software, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/06/08/network-automation-in-perspectiveIn talking with network operator customers around the world, a topic which invariably engenders lengthy and lively discussion is how to mitigate high OpEx in the face of continued growth in traffic volumes, ever-increasing dynamic traffic patterns, and the ongoing demand to increase service profitability. The passion that often underlies these discussions is not surprising when one is reminded that, in terms of total cost of ownership, operators can spend from three to six times more on OpEx than on CapEx.

In the context of today’s market environment, the network lifecycle model is a useful tool for addressing this topic. In a typical transport network lifecycle, there are tasks for network planning, commissioning, operation, and maintenance, as well as possibly for network re-optimization.

At some point during the lifecycle, the tasks are executed in parallel, especially in larger networks, and as a result require a high degree of coordination. This demand for coordination is increasing due to the rapidly scaling and unpredictable bandwidth demands impacting networks from access to the core. To meet the pressing demand for OpEx efficiencies, the smooth interworking between all tasks in the lifecycle, achieved through as much network automation as possible, is critical.

When I use the term “network automation,” I am not speaking solely in the context of automatic service provisioning. My definition of network automation goes well beyond this narrow scope to include all tasks of a network lifecycle.

Traditionally, there are two independent network software solutions supporting operators in their daily business and operations. The first one is any kind of network planning tool. These are typically available through an operator’s network equipment supplier, even if they are Excel-based tools. The more important software solution is the Network Management System (NMS). The NMS supports (according the OSI/ISO network management model) FCAPS (Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security Management) requirements and concentrates on service provisioning and corresponding fault/alarm and performance management. Support for network planning, commissioning, and maintenance tasks is typically not available or is very limited. Also the software solutions for NMS and planning have typically limited interworking and manual adaptation of data may be needed.

At Coriant, we have a long history of supporting customers with highly sophisticated planning tools and NMS systems. We have implemented customer-specific network automation solutions for our customers (including Tier 1 operators) that span the complete spectrum of lifecycle tasks – from network planning and commissioning to operation and maintenance as well as functions for network optimization. Through our experience and expertise, we will extend our NMS and newly developed SDN solutions to support all tasks of the network lifecycle.

To support a fully automated network, the role of the different software solutions must change and an automatic interface must be created for easy data exchange between the different software solutions:

Planning Tools: To enable network infrastructure planning and to allow highly accurate and optimized network design proposals, planning tools must consider equipment planning rules. These rules typically come from the technical implementation of the hardware, as with laser safety, power consumption, or heat distribution, or they come from customer-specific rules as with east/west separation of amplifiers into different shelves or separation of amplifiers and transponders into specific shelves. For packet optical transport networks, the tools must also support the simulation of optical fiber impairments to optimize the optical reach.

NMS: Software solution operators use the NMS on a daily basis, so this solution requires a single GUI that can support, in addition to current functionality, the automatic configuration of the network infrastructure layer (e.g., taking over configuration parameters from the planning tool). For the optical layer, an impairment aware routing engine (PCE) is required to support optimized 3R placement and wavelength selection, considering the fact that depending on the fiber type and the selected wavelength, the optical performance can be enhanced by factors. Network resource management for new equipment, including automatic slot assignment, and the generation of a list of materials and cabling plans is required to support an efficient order and deployment process. Interfaces between the planning tools and the NMS, for example, will enable smooth export/import of data and allow a tight interworking of planning and operations. Also rerouting and optimization of network resources must be supported by the NMS, especially in cases where service rerouting is possible without traffic loss, e.g., on packet layers or for protecting paths which are not actually carrying traffic. In addition, to allow for a smooth migration to next-generation network control, the NMS needs to be SDN-enabled and capable of supporting enhanced network abstraction, virtualization (slicing), and programmability through REST-based interfaces for use cases such as Bandwidth on Demand or service restoration.

Network Re-Optimization: As the network will, over time, require new links and as the originally assumed traffic patterns will likely undergo change, the ability for multi-layer re-optimization is critical. This re-optimization requires specialized tools, as different algorithms are needed and the optimization should include several network layers from pure optical transport (Layer 0) to IP/MPLS (Layer 3). This task should be typically separate as it requires careful planning and, in particular, coordinated feedback in the live network. The Coriant approach for this task is a multi-layer optimization service offering based on our experienced professional services and enabled by specialized planning tools.

Fully automated network control across the full spectrum of the network lifecycle will allow operators to more effectively optimize OpEx spending and speed up ROI, as well as improve network resource utilization that results in optimized CapEx spending. Depending on the operator’s network status and technology implementation, our studies have shown the potential for OpEx savings between 40% and 90%. One of the studies was done on a medium-sized Pan-European optical network that included optical and ODU layer switching, and the study compared the traditional network management and planning tool workflows with end-to-end fully automated workflows. With such a significant opportunity for savings, a more comprehensive approach to network automation is definitely worth considering.

]]>Telecom Infrastructure and the TIP(ping) Pointhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/06/02/telecom-infrastructure-and-the-tipping-point
Thu, 02 Jun 2016 17:50:00 +0000Paul Smelters, Executive Vice President, Product Management and Marketinghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/06/02/telecom-infrastructure-and-the-tipping-pointIn the last few years we’ve seen a seismic shift toward cloud service delivery and data center-optimized network architectures, as well as the trend of web-scale providers becoming major investors in their own transport infrastructure. We have also seen the data center itself being transformed by hyper-scale configurations, a drive towards dynamic programmability, and a rapid acceptance of open-source and shared product specifications coming out of industry initiatives like Open Compute Project (OCP). These latter approaches have now busted out of their intra data center boundaries to start attacking the established world of Telecom with initiatives like the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), launched earlier this year by Facebook, Intel, and Deutsche Telekom, among others. Both OCP and TIP represent new, disruptive but very collaborative approaches to building network infrastructure for a more scalable, agile, IT-driven future.

Highlighting progress in its efforts, last week TIP announced new members (including Coriant) and the first set of technical project groups created to support strategic network areas.

Access

Backhaul

Core & Management

System Integration and Site Optimization

Unbundled Solutions

Media-Friendly Solutions

High Frequency Autonomic Wireless

Open Optical Packet Transport

Core Network Optimization

Greenfield Telecom Networks

The TIP initiative, including the scope it encompasses, portends to add fuel to the broader industry trend toward openness (e.g., open APIs) and disaggregation that has spawned other recently formed industry collaborations such as ONOS, CORD, and Open ROADM.

As we’ve experienced in customer engagements around the world, this trend is quickly gaining mindshare in the industry, initially in applications building out from the Data Center (like DCI) but now across packet optical transport infrastructure. Independent of the emerging collaborative workgroups like TIP, Coriant has already been in the leading edge of these trends with recent best-in-class disaggregated and modular innovations such as the Coriant Groove™ G30 DCI Platform and the Coriant® Pluggable Optical Layer. Engagement with TIP and others will only make our commitment and synchronization with these multi-vendor solutions accelerate.

We’re excited to be teaming with Facebook and other members of the TIP ecosystem to significantly advance gains in cost and operational efficiencies in telecom infrastructure through more open, programmable, and scalable solutions. The success of the Facebook-driven OCP, introduced in 2011 and centered on disruptive innovation inside the data center, is a proof point of the ability of the industry to accelerate the pace of innovation in an open and collaborative environment. Coriant is deeply committed to these innovative approaches and is eager to be part of collaborative initiatives such as TIP which help accelerate industry momentum towards more open, agile, and scalable networking.

While the market imperative for disaggregation is clear, operators of these networks will require pragmatic solutions for evolving their infrastructure and redefining traditional business models with disruptive innovation. Helping our customers create a bridge to the future while ensuring high-quality, reliable, and competitive services in a rapidly evolving market environment remains one of Coriant’s strategic areas of strength.

]]>Ensuring Best-in-class Performance with Advanced Optical Link Controlhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/05/19/ensuring-best-in-class-performance-with-advanced-optical-link-control
Thu, 19 May 2016 18:00:00 +0000Alexander Niepel, Director, Solution Management Optical Corehttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/05/19/ensuring-best-in-class-performance-with-advanced-optical-link-controlThe primary focus in the planning and operation of DWDM networks is to maximize the reach and stability of optical paths. Network planning tools take key optical parameters into account to optimize the reach while minimizing the infrastructure needs by defining the best power settings for VOAs and amplifiers at the time of deployment. During operation, a network operator would ideally like to monitor optical parameters and adjust the power and gain levels to stabilize optical links.

For best-in-class stabilization of network operations, dynamic adjustments are critical to maintaining the performance of optical channels exposed to the influences of degrading fibers, optical components, or changes in other optical channels. This is especially the case in mesh-based optical networks where changes of other optical channels can be caused by channel up/downgrades and re-configurations/routings, as well as fiber cuts and the power-down situations of network elements. The objective of link control is to minimize the impact of these effects on channels in an optical mesh network.

The control of optical paths requires local measurements and feedback loops in all network elements and feedback loops encompassing multiple network elements in the link to adjust power levels. Communication between these network elements allows feedback loops to use information about neighboring spans to fine-tune the power settings.

Coriant has deep expertise in optical simulations with many years of experience in deploying and managing large-scale optical mesh networks across the globe. Based on these insights, we refined the communication between network elements and injected our optical knowledge and expertise into the sophisticated feedback loop algorithms. To address the challenges of measuring OSNR, our algorithms include calculations that factor in power measurements per channel and loss measurement per span.

Our advanced network planning and optical link control capabilities deliver a level of quality that are valued by our customers as critical to the performance and resiliency of their optical infrastructure networks, with benefits that span multiple operational areas:

Planning: The algorithms used in our network planning tool are so sophisticated that for any fiber type, fiber mix, fiber loss, data rate and modulation format, power is exactly balanced for every wavelength. As a result power is closer to the optical non-linear limit than other systems which equates to higher laser power and translates into significant additional reach. This is of particular value in situations where operators are facing challenging fiber conditions.

Optical service configuration: Channel up/downgrades can be executed without impacting other optical channels. As all of the power balancing is done by the feedback loops per channel, operators can enjoy the benefits of automation, including a lower risk of manual errors, less need for manual intervention, and faster service turn-up on upgraded channels.

Daily operations: The feedback loops run very fast, making the optical link more tolerant to sudden changes in conditions such as pressure on the fiber, bending of the fiber, fiber aging, increased loss after frequent fiber cuts and repair, or any other situation changing the attenuation in a span. Optical link control loops are so advanced that we can demonstrate an additional span budget margin of +10dB.

With the benefit of optical transport systems widely deployed in diverse market environments, we continue to advance our algorithms by leveraging continuous analysis of field data and taking further effects into account.

]]>Evolution of the Data Center Interconnect (DCI) Ecosystemhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/05/12/evolution-of-the-data-center-interconnect-dci-ecosystem
Thu, 12 May 2016 14:30:00 +0000JC Fahmyhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/05/12/evolution-of-the-data-center-interconnect-dci-ecosystemAs I highlighted in our recent Light Reading webinar, the growth of the cloud service delivery model and the related data center driven virtualization and disaggregation trends are accelerating the pace of broader industry change and fueling new DCI solution innovations. While Internet Content Providers (ICPs) continue to be key players in driving change and disruptive networking models, the evolution of a much broader DCI ecosystem is an often overlooked factor in both the pace of change and the composite of DCI solutions that are unfolding in response to growing market demand.

DCI is not a single use case, nor is it limited to the metro-based data center-to-data center ICP applications that have been at the center of most industry discussions to date. DCI is in fact a vibrant ecosystem comprised of many different players who at times compete and at times cooperate in establishing the end-to-end connectivity required to deliver content to end-users.

In addition to large scale ICPs, well-recognized as the driving force behind the advent of purpose-built DCI platforms, the ecosystem also includes Carrier Neutral Providers and operators of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). These players provide an important conduit for content – as well as content providers – to reach the end-user market, often taking on an increasingly direct role in the distribution themselves as their business grows and evolves. Lastly, Communications Service Providers (CSPs) of all shapes and sizes are actively engaged in designing and deploying DCI services. CSPs bring significant footprint and reach to the end-to-end equation (e.g., metro aggregation), and provide leased and managed connectivity to other ecosystem players while driving their own set of requirements for connectivity of their own cloud and data center assets. It is also interesting to note that the lines are blurring between these traditional categories, with providers increasingly active in both connectivity and content services.

As the diagram above illustrates, the DCI ecosystem also includes a broad range of segments and applications. DCI deployments span aggregation, metro, regional, and long haul networks, with business models and architectural solutions comprised of private networks, leased lines, and managed services. In many cases providers require a hybrid mix of solutions to address their end-to-end connectivity requirements, which helps explain the market requirement for co-opetition among ecosystem players. This highly dynamic environment is resulting in an increasing number of connections and required peering points, which in turn is driving change in how the underlying transport network needs to be built and further accelerating the pace of innovation for solutions to address the range of requirements of the different players in the ecosystem.

As evidenced in recent industry announcements and activities, innovations in areas such as disaggregation and SDN/NFV continue to capture the interest of industry players across this DCI ecosystem. These innovations and the role they play in DCI applications and emerging business models are explored in greater detail in this webinar, which is now available for viewing on Light Reading’s website.

]]>Transforming Optical Networks for a New Generation of Serviceshttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/05/04/transforming-optical-networks-for-a-new-generation-of-services
Wed, 04 May 2016 15:30:00 +0000Tarcisio Ribeiro, Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Services, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/05/04/transforming-optical-networks-for-a-new-generation-of-servicesWhen I meet with Coriant customers around the world, a topic that invariably rises to the top is the critical role of optical network transformation as traffic demands undergo a fundamental shift. Video and cloud-based services are clear transformation drivers, extending across fixed and mobile infrastructure. These services and the growth in bandwidth that comes with them also compel service providers to look at means of optimizing transport infrastructure across multiple network layers (e.g., Layers 0-3).

For nearly all of our customers, the explosion of end-user internet video and cloud services is creating entirely new traffic patterns. The mix in network traffic is increasingly shifting to bandwidth-intensive and asymmetric applications such as streaming video. Recent subscriber growth projections from OTT providers such as Netflix are the foundation of what is still to come in terms of network capacity demand.

Consumer behavior is changing quickly and drastically. Video consumption has become an individual experience as opposed to the traditional family activity of the past. This accelerates bandwidth consumption as the amount of simultaneous streams to the same household increases. And as recent research suggests, the creation of new video content is also expected to increase end-user engagement (viewing hours), resulting in a projected 10% growth in viewing time per subscriber per year, further driving demand for bandwidth at the core of the network.

The scale and unpredictable nature of these new traffic flows are driving a fundamental transformation of underlying optical transport networks. At the same time, both fixed and mobile service providers are being pressured to deliver a better end-user Quality of Experience (QoE) while containing and reducing OpEx and CapEx to ensure profitability.

The good news is that innovation in the optical layer is at the highest level ever. The advent of adaptive modulation techniques, for example, is paving the way for cost-efficient scalability to transmission speeds beyond 100G (e.g., 200G, 400G). In optical core networks, high-capacity and low latency transmission is critical to meeting the Quality of Service (QoS) demands of bandwidth-intensive and delay-sensitive end-user applications, including HD/OTT video. With high speed connectivity to and between data centers becoming increasingly critical to QoE and QoS as well, another important area of innovation that is exciting our customers is high-capacity, purpose-built DCI solutions such as our Coriant Groove™ G30 DCI Platform.

Innovation in high-capacity transmission alone is not sufficient to meet the challenges our customers face. Next-generation optical networks will increasingly rely on software intelligence to reduce operational complexity and simplify service provisioning as networks scale and traffic patterns become more dynamic. Multi-layer control via Software Defined Networking (SDN), for example, is a key enabler of optical network transformation, introducing a level of programmability and automation that is redefining traditionally static and manually intensive provisioning models. This is an area of innovation we are actively working on with our customers around the world with optical layer deployments based on our Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution that have proven to deliver compelling savings via OpEx-optimized workflows and enhanced end-to-end service control.

SDN is also one of the tools that will play an important role in enabling much tighter integration between the IP and optical layers of the network, which traditionally have been discrete domains with limited and largely static interconnection, separate planning and design processes, and the like. To help our customers advance multi-layer integration, we are bringing Coriant’s deep experience and expertise in IP and optical networking to deliver an expanded suite of SDN-enabled solutions as well as a customizable service offering that is specifically focused on IP-Optical optimization and migration planning.

While transformation has its many challenges, it is an exciting time to be working closely with our global customers to help them harness best-in-class technologies to build next-generation optical networks optimized for the services that are fundamentally changing the way we live, work, and play.

]]>Data Center Interconnect and SLA Performancehttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/04/28/data-center-interconnect-and-sla-performance
Thu, 28 Apr 2016 14:30:00 +0000Bill Kautz, Director of Strategic Solutions Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/04/28/data-center-interconnect-and-sla-performanceCoriant recently participated in a Light Reading webinar entitled “DCI and Beyond: Advanced Optics in the Metro” (view the archive here). The webinar, which included participation from Level 3, concluded with a number of interesting questions from viewers, including one that caught my attention. The question went like this:

“DCI is ‘less fancy’ than OTN/WDM, so is it possible to deliver the same SLAs?”

Not only is the answer yes, but more than ever it is imperative that data center interconnections support the highest level of SLAs and that these connections are built with an underlying transport network that is resilient and that supports protection from outages. This is important because we have all come to rely on services that are now hosted in the cloud. These include the fundamental enterprise IT services that make our businesses work, services that directly impact our well-being like healthcare and financial services, and streaming content services for entertainment. The enormous amount of data that flows between data centers and the importance of this data mandates that SLA performance in data center interconnections be resilient. As cloud computing continues to be a top driver of IT spending, and as enterprise IT workloads increasingly shift to public and private cloud environments, the topic of DCI resiliency and SLA performance will take on even greater importance.

There are multiple networking technologies that support building resilient DCI, starting with the transmission signal itself. The original question references DCI as being “less fancy” than OTN/WDM, when in fact with 100G coherent DWDM DCI, the data is put into an OTN wrapper with Forward Error Correction (FEC) to enable better transmission performance and improved resilience to bit errors, the same as OTN DWDM traffic. This OTN wrapper is utilized in all traffic type cases, whether the data is Ethernet or OTN. While this is a good start, more is necessary to cover potential failure cases where path connections can be lost.

In terms of providing DCI path level resiliency, there are options based on path protection mechanisms and diverse path routing/switching mechanisms. One of the simplest DCI path protection options is to use optical switch protection at the optical layer that gives redundant paths for DCI signal transmission. OTN protection is another option where there is a framed OTN network layer implemented. Ethernet layer or IP routing over diverse DCI paths is another option where there is enough spare capacity left on some of the DCI interconnections. This is also an area where Software Defined Networking (SDN) can be utilized in multi-layer architectures to enable protection and optimize costs at the same time.

While the various DCI network path resiliency options have different implementations and costs, the end goal is the same – building a more resilient cloud to host the services that we all have come to depend on for both work and play, and which will become increasingly integral to our lives as we move into the future. The argument can be made that DCI requires the highest SLA possible.

]]>In the Shadow of Watson – Cognitive Computing and the Connected Worldhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/04/20/in-the-shadow-of-watson-cognitive-computing-and-the-connected-world
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 12:30:00 +0000Alexander Niepel, Director, Solution Management Optical Corehttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/04/20/in-the-shadow-of-watson-cognitive-computing-and-the-connected-worldThe victory of IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer over chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1997 was the moment I first recognized the true power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). That was just a couple of months before I started my career at Siemens. And now, 18 years later, another stunning AI victory has captured the attention of the world – the victory of Google’s Go-playing computer system over the Korean grandmaster Lee Sedol, finishing the best-of-five series with four wins and one loss. The attention this news generated was far-reaching, and it is also, I believe, necessary for preparing customers, especially enterprise customers, for the business aspirations of AI.

At the end of last year, IBM announced the opening of its global headquarters for Watson Internet of Things (IoT), a successor for Deep Blue. To hear that was happening in my town was really thrilling news!

The rise of the IoT became possible, in part, through innovations in and price declines for sensors as well as storage and compute power in data centers. The idea of extracting value out of the data is apparent. Still, the challenge is that 80% of the data is unstructured according to IBM. And this is where Watson comes into the game. With its cognitive compute power, it can analyze structured and unstructured data and present trends and correlations to the user. “The Internet of Things will soon be the largest single source of data on the planet, yet almost 90 percent of that data is never acted upon,” said Harriet Green, general manager, Watson IoT and Education. “With its unique abilities to sense, reason and learn, Watson opens the door for enterprises, governments and individuals to finally harness this real-time data, compare it with historical data sets and deep reservoirs of accumulated knowledge, and then find unexpected correlations that generate new insights to benefit business and society alike.”

Coriant originated in Munich by unleashing the former Siemens assets in optical transport and then expanded with Tellabs’ metro packet optical and routing assets, all of which are playing a crucial, though less recognized, role in the IoT infrastructure. All of the data generated by an armada of sensors needs to be collected, aggregated, and forwarded to data centers, and enterprises need to expand their LAN/WAN to the data center to crunch that data.

A new white paper from Coriant explains how service providers can prepare and optimize their networks for the Internet of Things age. Of course, one can argue that many IoT applications are already deployed and running without any network optimization. This white paper points to future applications that will require the highest possible network availability with super low latency. An example future application is smart roads in combination with connected self-driving cars. High network availability and low latency become even more apparent if applications evolve from pure monitoring to control, which is not necessarily the key design criteria for today’s networks, but the introduction of 5G for IoT and the rise of highly demanding control applications with safety aspects will question the way networks are built. Today, Coriant already delivers outstanding products to build networks for the next industrial revolution, which will move AI from the headlines to our fingertips.

]]>Data Center Interconnect (DCI) and the End-userhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/04/14/data-center-interconnect-dci-and-the-end-user
Thu, 14 Apr 2016 14:27:00 +0000Bill Kautz, Director of Strategic Solutions Marketing, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/04/14/data-center-interconnect-dci-and-the-end-userAccording to spending forecasts released earlier this week by IDC, the private and public cloud IT infrastructure will experience healthy year-over-year increases at 11.1% and 14.1% respectively. These projections reinforce the steady migration underway as enterprises evolve their Wide Area Network (WAN) architectures to leverage the benefits of the cloud, whether in a private, virtual private, public, or hybrid mode.

While the high-capacity interconnection (e.g., 100G and beyond) between data centers has received considerable focus in the industry given the impact of elephant flows on transport network architectures, strategies for connecting enterprise end-users are equally important, as without the right connection, end-users cannot leverage the benefits of cloud services to their fullest extent.

One of the key differences in connecting enterprises to the cloud is that in most cloud-based applications there are many more end-user connections to data centers than connections between data centers. In fact, the connections are much more diverse, not only in number but also in terms of variance in speed and access methodology type – whether enterprise location connections (e.g., branch office, remote site), mobile network connections, or enterprise and consumers connected through internet service connections. In most cases, these connection bandwidth requirements are lower than data center to data center bandwidth requirements. Specific data center applications also place requirements on the end-user interconnection. An example is the requirement for low jitter and latency and a high-bandwidth connection required for end-users who utilize a streaming high definition or 4k video service and want to view it in real time, versus the much lower bandwidth required for a Google search instance.

Today, the majority of end-users are connected to the cloud via services from Communications Service Providers (CSPs). Note that these services are networking-type services and are not necessarily “hard” linked to specific cloud services. In many cases they are part of an internet access service. There are exceptions to this for some enterprise cloud-based services built as private networks where connections to end-users may be included in a common network infrastructure. These dedicated connection services can offer higher performance and support more stringent SLAs than some shared internet access services. Common CSP services connecting end-users include Carrier Ethernet (CE), VPN, internet access, and mobile cellular data service. These services utilize various transport solutions including DWDM packet transport systems, CE solutions, MPLS-TP packet transport nodes, DSL systems, cable data modem systems, mobile wireless solutions, and IP/MPLS routers. It is also common to have a combination of solutions, with an edge solution feeding a packet optical transport solution for aggregation and core transport and routers at the data layer for support of switched VPN services.

Over time, the march toward higher speed and flexible connectivity will continue as the workload demands of end-user applications increase in capacity and utilize multiple cloud delivery models. In the case of enterprises, this trend will dictate the need for more flexible approaches to scalability and on-demand agility in WAN evolution strategies. CSPs will need to adapt their communications services to meet these requirements with more agile and flexible bandwidth solutions. In the end, a successful WAN strategy for most enterprises will encompass the ability to flexibly connect to and leverage a blend of private, virtual private, and hybrid cloud models.

]]>Moving Up, Coming Together, and Breaking Aparthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/03/31/moving-up-coming-together-and-breaking-apart
Thu, 31 Mar 2016 14:00:00 +0000Paul Smelters, Executive Vice President, Product Management and Marketinghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/03/31/moving-up-coming-together-and-breaking-apartIt is the largest optical communications and networking conference in the world, and this year it boasted more than 13,000 visitors from over 65 countries. We’re grateful to the show’s organizers for the opportunity to meet with many of our global customers and prospects, and I want to share a few observations from the show that stood out for me.

Moving Up: The Impact of the Cloud and the Drive to Greater Agility

Dominant themes at OFC continued to reflect the competitiveness and innovation of the industry as well as fundamental shifts accelerated by the increasingly important transition to Cloud and Data Center-centric network design and service delivery. In the case of innovation, advances in Coherent DSP and Photonics integration were evident in many industry press releases and future product announcements. At the same time, the “fundamental shift to Cloud architectures” is very relevant, as this is driving the most aggressive capacity/line rate demands, introducing new metro network architectures, and advancing an urgency for more “agile” networks – here the focus is equally on the programmability and virtualization of the network (Transport SDN/NFV now becoming commercially available), as well as a continuance towards network element disaggregation and Open (read “multi source”) Hardware Subsystems. These last elements were touted as a means to enable networks to be deployed at rates faster than proprietary/integrated solutions are able to evolve today. A specific example at OFC 2016 was AT&T’s announcement of their Open ROADM initiative. I don’t know if we are at a tipping point yet for one solution to dominate, but the call for action was certainly in the air in Anaheim this year.

The acceleration towards Cloud architectures and Data Center-centric service delivery is only increasing (reference recent Gartner research on public cloud services growth), so it is likely that these trends and pressures will continue to drive industry transformation in the years to come. Leveraging a more efficient and agile infrastructure in order to compete more effectively for this growing revenue opportunity will increasingly be a competitive necessity.

With this tremendous interest in all things cloud as a backdrop, we were excited to showcase our most recent DCI innovations at the show, including a live demonstration of the recently introduced Coriant Groove™ G30 DCI Platform (32 Tbps in a single 1RU!) and a Coriant CloudWave™ Optics-enabled long reach DCI application that was demonstrated in collaboration with Corning. Our Coriant CloudWave™ Optics solution was also recently featured in a Tier 1 European service provider live field trial that demonstrated ultra-fast 400G transmission (using 64QAM and 128QAM) in a span typical of metro Data Center Interconnect (DCI) applications.

Driving convergence of networking layers with Software Defined Networking (SDN) is another area of heightened interest among our service provider customers, who continue to face pressures to evolve to more dynamic yet coordinated operational approaches such as multi-layer optimized service creation and restoration. Traditionally, IP/MPLS and packet optical transport are separated in different network domains with different network management systems and planning principles, and often managed by operational staff from different organizational groups and technology backgrounds.

At OFC 2016, we were pleased to take part in a multi-layer, multi-vendor SDN demonstration that was hosted by Telefónica. Working closely with Sedona and DWDM and IP vendors, we demonstrated an SDN-based multi-layer restoration application that put IP and Optical integration in the spotlight. This demonstration – which Heavy Reading analyst Sterling Perrin confirmed to be an important industry-first – highlighted progress in SDN technology to automate and optimize the network management process in a multi-vendor and multi-technology environment, drive down network OpEx and CapEx, and address the operational challenges of the competitive carrier environment. This demonstration also provided us a great opportunity to showcase our recently introduced Coriant Transcend™ SDN Packet Controller.

In addition to this multi-layer, multi-vendor demonstration, during OFC we also introduced the Coriant Light IP™ Solution, a cost-disruptive approach to scaling networks to meet the surging traffic demand via innovative, high performance multi-layer IP-Optical integration. We look forward to sharing more about this solution, as well as our Coriant Transcend™ SDN Solution, in the coming weeks and months.

Breaking Apart: Disaggregation and Open Standards in the Spotlight

In addition to quite a number of conference sessions focused on the topic of disaggregation, including one in the OFC 2016 Service Provider Summit led by Coriant’s Zeljko Bulut, the industry witnessed several high profile announcements during the show that served to further stir debate about this controversial yet important topic, one which has particular relevance to data center build outs and SDN/NFV architectures.

As you may be aware, Coriant recently introduced the industry’s first fully pluggable optical layer, which was featured in a live demonstration at the Coriant OFC booth. The Coriant® Pluggable Optical Layer represents a new approach to metro optical service enablement by disaggregating the full suite of optical layer components into compact pluggables, including amplifiers, variable optical attenuators, power monitoring, combiners, splitters, WSSs, etc. This solution represents a means of leveraging disaggregation to customize metro optical network deployments (e.g., fixed DWDM, CWDM, and ROADM) without the need to pay for unwanted or unneeded functionality.

There will be much more innovation to come in this area and certainly more to debate on the topic of disaggregation in the coming years, but it is without doubt an important industry trend that will manifest itself in different ways within network architectures, applications, and services.

Coriant R&D recently had the opportunity to work with a leading European service provider to successfully demonstrate error-free transmission of dual polarization (DP) 64/128QAM 400G single-carriers (generated by utilizing only commercial components) over the service provider’s legacy metro system consisting of G.652 SMF.

This field trial differed from previous industry demonstrations where newly engineered fibers in lab-based environments were used or a large number of sub-carriers (i.e., super-channel configuration) were used. The optical field trial test bed provided by our service provider partner was particularly challenging, as it is typically used to stress test real-world performance. The link included high attenuation and a large number of splices, a scenario typical of real metro optical networks. But we were up for the challenge, as always.

Although the initial conditions were prohibitive, we took the challenge to showcase the two aforementioned industry-first experiments. This was possible due to, among other things, our deep experience and expertise in digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms and transponder prototypes. To run the field trial, we utilized our prototype bandwidth variable transponder, which can transmit/receive a large set of transmission schemes at different symbol rates, employing different DSP algorithms and forward error correction (FEC) codes.

We adopted a carrier spacing of 56.25 GHz for 64QAM and 128QAM, thus achieving a net spectral efficiency of 7.11 b/s/Hz.

We transmitted multiple single-lambda 400G channels (30x400G) for 64QAM and also multiple single-lambda 400G channels (30x400G) for 128QAM, and measured post-FEC error-free performance over 156 km for single-channel transmission and 80 km for DWDM, for both modulation formats and links.

Our results showed that these schemes are suitable for metro networks where they introduce lower costs, lower power consumption, and a smaller footprint compared to the super-channel approach (i.e., fewer transponders are needed). This field trial represented the first ever DWDM transmission of 400G 128QAM using single-carriers over legacy transmission links.

The figure above highlights implementation details of our successful field trial. The industry-first achievements we demonstrated were made possible by great team effort!

In addition to technology experts in our R&D team and at our service provider partner, I would like to thank the FP-7 IDEALIST and the BMBF funded SASER-Sigfried projects for supporting this work.

Fiber optic cables serve as the underlying foundation for global communication – connecting cities, countries, and continents. As we all know, these broadband arteries are not without their vulnerabilities. Terrestrial fiber is notoriously susceptible to errant backhoe operators. One study calculated more than 675,000 terrestrial fiber incidents per year in the US due to excavation. Within the worldwide fiber infrastructure, aerial fiber plays an important role as it is substantially cheaper to deploy compared to laying fiber in the ground. While deployed well above the reach of backhoe claws, aerial fiber has its own set of challenges, not least of which is exposure to potentially harsh environmental conditions including wind, rain, snow, and thunderstorms.

With these challenges in mind, what does one make of sudden, out of the blue transmission errors on aerial fiber? And what if evaluation of transmission data shows errors in two directions simultaneously, that is, on two different fibers within the same cable? Think lightning.

<em>Source: Prof. Dr. Silverio Visacro Filho.</em>

The image above shows damage that lightning strikes can have on Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) cable, a type of cable commonly used in aerial fiber applications alongside ultra-high-voltage (UHV) power transmission lines. Optical ground wire is an aluminum/steel cable equipped with fibers inside and is strung along the top of power lines. Its primary purpose is to attract lightning in order to protect the power carrying cables. While legacy direct detect transmission technology such as 10 Gbps is inherently immune to perturbations caused by severe weather conditions, the evolution to 100 Gbps transmission presents a new set of challenges for network operators due to sophisticated polarization multiplexed coherent modulation.

In Europe, there are on average 30 direct lightning strikes per 100 km of OPGW per year; and this number is even higher in other regions such as the Americas. With more and more fiber optic connections moving to 100 Gbps, and with operators already looking at even higher speed connectivity (e.g., 200G, 400G), we wanted to challenge our Coriant CloudWave™ technology with lightning.

With one of the strongest lightning generators in Germany, the Deutsches Museum in Munich proved to be the optimal testing ground – and that’s exactly where the Coriant team headed in early March.

<em>Preparing the OPGW </em>

As one of the Deutsches Museum’s most popular attractions, we were excited about the opportunity to use their high voltage generator for our tests.

The image below shows a 1MV, 3kA lightning bolt striking an OPGW during the actual test:

]]>Silicon Photonics – A Look Beyond the Hype Cyclehttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/03/09/silicon-photonics-a-look-beyond-the-hype-cycle
Wed, 09 Mar 2016 13:00:00 +0000Harald Bock, Vice President, Network & Technology Strategy, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/03/09/silicon-photonics-a-look-beyond-the-hype-cycleWith ongoing demand for network capacity, an increasing level of integration of optical and electronic components is critical to reducing the associated costs of power consumption and footprint of optical WAN networking equipment. Silicon Photonics is unquestionably one of the key technologies driving innovation in this field. During the PIC International Conference in Brussels last week, I had the opportunity to present during a session specifically focused on the topic of Silicon Photonics and the role it plays in “Increasing the Capability of Optical Networks.”

I was glad to have the opportunity to share my perspective on the state of Silicon Photonics in evolving optical network architectures, as well as engage in lively discussions with many industry colleagues, as this is a subject of particular interest to me given my focus on technology strategy within the CTO office at Coriant.

As inferred in the title of my talk (“Silicon Photonics in Optical Networking – Yesterday’s Hype, Today’s Reality, Tomorrow’s Vision”), I was specifically interested in exploring the value – both current and future – that Silicon Photonics enables from a systems and network perspective.

The main benefit of any kind of photonic and electronic integration is reduction of power and size of systems. We all know that, and we take this for granted, but it is always useful to look back to understand just how fundamental those improvements are. It was around the turn of the millennium, for example, when optical network nodes consisted of racks of equipment. DWDM systems alone filled several racks, while switching filled additional ones. Individual optical functions filled several slots – e.g., often full shelves were used for ROADMs or for a single add/drop function.

Around 2006, a new generation of DWDM systems reduced power consumption and size substantially. With these advances, optical functions were integrated on cards, e.g., a full add/drop function on a card or a full network node in a single shelf. And things did not stop there. Looking at where we are today, optical functions are not on cards but in pluggables, network nodes in flatpack or pizza-box format with up to 3.2 Terabits of bidirectional interface capacity in a single RU. This represents impressive progress, with very compelling economic benefits that are playing out in key applications such as Data Center Interconnect (DCI).

But where was – and is – Silicon Photonics in all that?

Silicon Photonics has been talked about a lot for quite a long period of time. As highlighted in a recent research report by LightCounting, new technologies often start to gain pragmatic traction only after overzealous industry expectations (i.e., hype) start to fade.

Following the peak of hype around SiP (around 2012 according to a recent report on Silicon Photonics by LightCounting), reality kicked in, and the years since have witnessed tough questions around the promises – and the reality – of Silicon Photonics. So where does that leave us today? To answer that, it’s useful to take a step back and perform a kind of reality check on photonic and electronically integrated components from a systems perspective.

Progress in form factor and power consumption almost to this day has always been based on a combination of several technologies and elements:

Electronic integration, photonic integration and miniaturization, which has a lot to do with alignment and manufacturing processes

Photonic integration itself was, and is, a mix of different approaches (hybrid vs. single chip integration, combined with micro-optics, MEMS technology) and uses different material systems (InP, Silica on Silicon, Polymers, …); Silicon Photonics has been talked about most of all the technologies, but for a very long time, no products really turned up in optical networking.

Although that high level picture has remained unchanged, in recent years, there are a number of optical components based on Silicon Photonics that have been introduced into the market. This trend continues today, with most work right now focused on integration of Tx/Rx in pluggable interface modules.

While the major commercial ramp is yet to come, the progress the industry has made since the Silicon Photonics hype cycle has charted a viable course across the proverbial “chasm” of technology adoption. A large part of this progress is due to the development efforts and funding focused on the application of Silicon Photonics in other (non-optical networking) industries, particularly in the IT and µprocessor industries. IBM, Intel, and others have helped drive innovation in chip-to-chip optical interconnect technologies, which have positive implications for Silicon Photonics advances in the optical networking arena. There is clearly much work ahead of us, but industry progress in the area of board-to-board and chip-to-chip interconnect applications will fuel and feed innovation in optical networking as well.

While I believe that Silicon Photonics now has its first solid footing beyond the chasm, each of the individual applications will continue to have challenges that need to be addressed before true adoption begins. Overall, however, the good news for optical networks is: The long term vision of full custom Silicon Photonics optical ASICs remains intact due to the fabless model of the technology. Also, investments into Silicon Photonics have picked up again, so we can expect a lot from this “disruptive” technology in the years to come.

]]>The 5G Future – Closer Than You Thinkhttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/03/03/the-5g-future-closer-than-you-think
Thu, 03 Mar 2016 18:13:00 +0000Paul Smelters, Executive Vice President, Product Management and Marketinghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/03/03/the-5g-future-closer-than-you-thinkLast week we had the pleasure to host a broad range of guests, including customers, partners, and industry analysts, at our Mobile World Congress exhibit in Barcelona. The discussions we had were extremely informative and engaging, and I want to take the opportunity to share some personal observations. Listening to our guests’ insights into evolving market trends, operational challenges, and technology strategies is particularly valuable in helping to shape our view of the future, as well as further inform how our solutions can drive value for our customers.

With attendance surpassing 100,000 and visitors from over 204 countries, it was an incredibly busy and energizing week at the show. Hot new topics and partnerships in building the future were in full force. We experienced this directly with significant year-over-year growth in visitors to the Coriant booth, as well as in a palpable increase in enthusiasm for the future – where services are going, where the network is going, and the role we are playing in our customers’ network evolution.

The broader show centered on compelling new applications such as virtual reality headsets, ultra high definition 4K/8K video distribution, autonomous cars, the Internet of Things (IoT), and more. What this 5G-empowered experience means for the network is acceleration toward what most of us realize to be a full network reboot. This new network is about more than just an increase in capacity; it is also about the accelerated need for virtualization, automation, network programmability, and orchestration of different infrastructure layers or network functions.

The infrastructure of today is not designed for those challenges, and what MWC 2016 spotlighted were numerous examples of the networking and service innovations that will lead to realizing and effectively scaling that 5G future. With network operators actively exploring means for first move advantages in the introduction of 5G services (for example, with unlicensed spectrum), the feeling at this year’s MWC was that the 5G transition is actually closer than we think.

To that end, we were excited to partner with Brocade to showcase how the powerful combination of multi-vendor SDN and NFV can build – with a simple point-and-click GUI – a full mobile network in just 5 minutes, enabling any operator to envision almost instantaneous advanced service introduction without weeks/months of network planning.

The show also provided us a great opportunity to showcase the importance of the tighter coupling between the IP and optical networking domains. This tighter coupling – which we demonstrated in an IP-Optical integrated application based on our 8665 IP/MPLS Smart Router and our newly introduced Pluggable Optical Layer – will be critical to enabling mobile operators to address key challenges as LTE/LTE-A networks evolve over time to support the stringent performance requirements of 5G. These challenges include an approximately 20-fold increase in end-user data rates (up to 10Gbps) compared to LTE/LTE-A, ultra-low latency of 1msec round trip, and ultra-dense deployments that will set unprecedented requirements for synchronization of cells sites as small and overlapping cell sites proliferate. IP-Optical integration can help today’s increasingly fiber-based backhaul networks perform better with less incremental capital expenditures.

Lastly, while the theme of this year’s MWC show was “Mobile is Everything,” it was hard to ignore the fact that the “Cloud” also had an “everything” ring to it in our conversations with customers. This ring included the importance that data center connectivity is playing in the evolution and transformation of transport network architectures. This was one of the reasons we saw tremendous interest in Coriant’s new Groove™ G30 DCI platform, an ultra-dense disaggregated solution that made its public debut at the show. As data centers continue to become integral to service delivery of all types, including mobile, we are confident these types of solutions will grow in importance to our customers.

As outlined in a recent blog about mobile operator challenges, there are a number of business and technical challenges mobile operators face in today’s environment. As consumers and businesses demand more from their mobile operators, the existing proprietary, hardware-centric mobile networks make it very challenging to meet these demands and in a timeframe suitable for customers.

Mobile networks are typically deployed as monolithic regional or national networks where all customers and applications share the same access network, backhaul links, and mobile gateways. The implementation of this network design takes years, and even small upgrades can subsequently require months for network integration and deployment. This compares to new mobile competitors (i.e., OTT messaging) who can roll out new services or features much faster, sometimes in days. In a world where mobile users expect instant gratification, mobile operators are at a significant disadvantage. This is not a sustainable, viable operations model for mobile operators to match the rapid pace of new service innovation.

Along with current network limitations, organizational silos can increase the complexity and time to make network changes in support of new services. According to a recent survey conducted by Heavy Reading and sponsored by both Brocade and Coriant, SDN and NFV have the potential to change network operations and break down the existing silos.

The Importance of SDN and NFV to Eliminate Operational Silos within the Operator

The Smart Mobile Cloud solution brings together Brocade data center expertise in virtualized EPC and IP services along with Coriant mobile backhaul expertise. SDN technology is used to integrate both the data center and mobile backhaul networks, which could ultimately help to start breaking down operational silos between these two domains while creating an automated and programmable mobile infrastructure.

The Smart Mobile Cloud solution combines SDN and NFV technologies to showcase an innovative approach to reducing service activation times and enhancing service performance. The solution demonstrates technology that is intended to be standardized in 5G networking today including mobile network slicing and distributed packet core. The solution includes off-the-shelf and open source components, highlighting the ability to deploy solutions that provide an onramp to 5G.

Coriant and Brocade propose a mobile network designed for agile adaptation, such that capacity for individual applications may be activated on demand in minutes, with customized backhaul links and flexible vEPC placement. The SDN controlled transport network delivers services as requested through easily programmable software interfaces. The virtual packet core can be located at any site desired to support functions including EPC and Gi-LAN interface with advanced IP policy support. This entire solution is then commissioned as needed through common REST APIs from an external configuration system such as WebGUI, OSS, or other platforms.

Enabling Services

Through the Smart Mobile Cloud, Coriant and Brocade enable mobile network slicing to offer a new suite of services including:

IoT – backhaul to the IoT provider data center including support for routing low latency or low congestion paths efficiently

Enterprise mobile network – a dedicated service for physical or virtually distributed campuses where a common infrastructure and security policy may be applied to all users

Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) – a dedicated mobile core is created for each customer with the option to support a defined coverage area and carrier selected hand-off point

Benefits to Mobile Operators

The Smart Mobile Cloud demonstration will be shown live at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona. If you want to see the demo and learn more about how it enables mobile network slicing and increases service velocity, request a meeting today.

]]>Getting in Sync with Mobile Backhaul and the Challenges of 5Ghttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/02/09/getting-in-sync-with-mobile-backhaul-and-the-challenges-of-5g
Tue, 09 Feb 2016 09:03:00 +0000Mikko Hannula, Director of Product Management, Corianthttp://www.coriant.com/blog/2016/02/09/getting-in-sync-with-mobile-backhaul-and-the-challenges-of-5gFew will disagree that 5G poses an unprecedented set of operational challenges for mobile operators. Underlying these challenges is the ongoing evolution of Radio Access Network (RAN) technologies. As mobile networks eventually migrate from LTE Advanced (LTE-A) to 5G, there are three fundamental changes that will have the most significant upstream impact on mobile backhaul networks:

15- to 20-fold increase in capacity (from LTE/LTE-A capacity of ~100s of Mbps to ~10 Gbps in 5G) will change the sizing requirements of the backhaul networks and drive dense 10G and 100G requirements close to the cell site.

Ultra-low latency of ~1 ms (round trip) will require EPC functions to be distributed and virtualized closer to cell sites, and high-touch intermediate hops (e.g., queuing, high latency functions that cause serialization delay) will need to be minimized to achieve this goal.

Ultra-dense nature of the network will also set unprecedented requirements for the synchronization of the cell sites as small and overlapping cell sites proliferate. It is estimated that the accuracy requirements in 5G will be three times stricter than what LTE-A requires (1.5 μs to approx 0.5 μs).

The impact of 5G and mobile backhaul has not escaped industry attention, as evidenced in the results of a recent industry survey:

The challenges of LTE-A to 5G evolution, and in particular the impact on mobile backhaul networks, is one of the key topics that we will be exploring in depth in the Coriant blog. We will begin with shining a spotlight on the critical role that synchronization will play in ensuring optimal service performance and best-in-class Quality of Experience (QoE) as backhaul networks begin the steady march toward 5G.

For many years, the main synchronization requirements of mobile networks (2G/3G or LTE) have been a frequency accuracy of 50 ppb at the air interface. Newer LTE Time Division Duplex (LTE-TDD), LTE-A, and 5G systems also need phase/time synchronization for the following purposes:

Avoiding interference between overlapping cells, particularly small cells in urban environments; for LTE-A, enhanced inter-cell interference coordination (eICIC) operates in the time domain, so cells must be phase synchronized to deliver data in different sub-frames

Coordinated multipoint (CoMP) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmissions, in which several base stations transmit concurrently to a single handset

The stringent synchronization demands of LTE-TDD, LTE-A, and 5G are a serious challenge for network planners. Without a robust and cost-effective solution that far exceeds current implementations, the promise of next generation services will remain unfulfilled. To support frequency synchronization over packet-based mobile backhaul, two main approaches are widely deployed:

Synchronization provided to cell sites by a dedicated 1588 master clock or GNSS receiver and antenna at each site, whether standalone or built into the base station, can be costly as networks grow and small cells proliferate. Installation complexity or physical site limitations can become prohibitive. Local GNSS receivers are also vulnerable to inconsistent satellite reception and signal jamming. Even with local GNSS receivers, a back-up timing source is usually still needed. This is motivating the rollout of IEEE 1588 phase- and time-enabled packet networks. Using IEEE 1588v2 to distribute timing can also reduce the number and cost of local receivers/antennas and enable operators to extend phase synchronization to sites where GNSS is difficult to deploy.

One approach to effectively implementing synchronization across access networks is using routers with embedded synchronization capabilities. This approach delivers extremely accurate Time-of-Day and phase synchronization suitable for LTE-TDD, LTE-A, and 5G networks. For networks that are not IEEE 1588 capable, some routers offer a cost-effective integrated GNSS SFP that acts as a local IEEE 1588 PRTC master at a cell site or aggregation site and eliminates the need for an external GNSS receiver.

Below is an application example that represents the enabling of mobile backhaul for phase/time synchronization with IEEE 1588v2 full on path Boundary Clock (BC) support. In this example, each node is enabled for BC and extremely precise and robust timing is supported across the entire network, with each side prepared for all mobile technologies. PTP sync packets are transmitted on Layer 2 or Layer 3.

Where connectivity allows, IEEE 1588 masters on different aggregation sites can provide redundancy to other sites. Synchronous Ethernet provides holdover accuracy to further protect against GNSS outages. Because it is integrated with the router, this solution can also be managed by the router’s network management system. The combination of managed, integrated GNSS modules and IEEE 1588v2 functionality offers flexible deployment models with optimal cost and performance.

To further advance the flexibility of the solution and cost efficiency of deployment, 1588 BC Partial On Path Support (POPS, G.8275.2, see diagram for more detail) is being worked on. In POPS sync, intermediate router/switch hops that are not able to update the sync messages (BC unaware) can exist. This will significantly reduce the requirement for forklift upgrades of networks as equipment replacement costs are minimized.

There is a strong argument to be made for the transport network as the primary means of distributing synchronization to base stations. Through a combination of GNSS equipped cell site routers and embedded IEEE 1588v2 functionality, the demands of synchronization for LTE-TDD, LTE-A, and 5G networks can be met reliably, cost effectively, and in a way that is easily deployed and managed. The days of complex, dedicated synchronization equipment in wireless access networks are numbered.

So where are we going with coherent 100G? Is the evolution of 100G coherent optics a straightforward path toward the next mega-capacity line rate, or are there distinct market segments that will innovate at their own speed, and with their own set of requirements?

Moving forward, 100G will be dominated by booming deployments in metro markets. And while not at the same level as metro, 100G will also see application in the evolving trend toward disaggregation of platforms addressing the datacom Data Center Interconnect (DCI) market. While the path toward 400GbE-supporting interfaces is a story playing out on its own terms, 100GbE-supporting DWDM optics are bound to go the same way as 10Gbps – toward cheaper, low power, small form factor pluggable modules that are interchangeable and fully interoperable across multiple vendor domains. We believe these interfaces will be powered by generic, low power processors with limited, if any, optical performance differentiation.

This trend toward commoditized line side functionality – what I call 100G White Box DSPs – is a topic I expanded on in a recent article in Fibre Systems Magazine. So where are we going? Learn more here.

This blog will feature insights from our industry and technology experts on market trends, technologies, applications, case studies, networking design concepts, news, and more. Innovation and disruptive change is unfolding in many areas of our business, and as result we intend to take a broad scope.

Some of the important topics that we will tackle in the blog include cloud architectures, mobile backhaul evolution, Data Center Interconnect (DCI), SDN/NFV network transformation, IP and optical convergence, and emerging photonic layer technologies that promise to transform connectivity from metro access to the long haul optical core.

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We hope your enjoy our blog, and we look forward to you joining in the conversation.

Paul Smelters

Executive Vice President, Product Management and Marketing

Paul Smelters is Executive Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Coriant, where he is responsible for the product planning for the company’s comprehensive portfolio, as well as solutions marketing and corporate communications.